Demon Blood
by Jezunya
Summary: Ketzia, a hanyou who knew Inuyasha a long time ago, is trying to get him to return to the Western Lands. Ch5: Kagome gets dragged along as the dog-demons set out for the Western lands [InuKag]
1. Sirius

As yet untitled....

Chapter 1: Sirius

Disclaimer: How many times do I have to say this?? I don't own IY!!!! (I just force him and his little friends to act out my deranged ideas)Sirius

AN: This is a fic I've been planning for a looooooooooooooooong time, and here it finally is!! I have big plans for it! I hope you like it! ^-^

Also… This has been revised and this is the second time I'm posting it. There has been some editing of small errors and typos, as well as two small scenes added at the end. ^-^ Please read!

** ** ** ** **

"Bartender! I'm looking for a hanyou by the name of Inuyasha." The demoness leaned over the bar, her canine ears pricked forward, listening to the man intently. "I had heard that he was in this area; has he come through here?"

"Aye, he and his group of adventurers are here in the village right now. They be a-passing through, but they're staying at the Village Head's house t'night," the pudgy man said, deciding that it was probably safer to give the youkai a quick, direct answer, than risk having her obviously sharp claws at his throat. 

"Arigatou." The demoness smiled toothily and went back to where her heavily armored companions were sitting.

Across the tavern, Miroku quietly slipped out and hurried back to the others.

***

"Someone's looking for us."

"What do you mean?" Kagome asked from her place by the fire. The others were looking up at the houshi as well, curiosity and varying amounts of worry on their faces.

"I mean there was a group of demons in the tavern asking questions about dog-boy here." Miroku sat down next to the fire and picked up a bowl of rice. "They didn't even seem to kno--"

"Shh!" Inuyasha cut him off abruptly. The dog-demon was staring at the window, his face unreadable. Moving silently, he stood and pushed aside the window shade just enough for him to see out. In the street below, the group of demons was speaking with the Village Head.

Inuyasha paled visibly and cursed under his breath. 

Myouga hopped up to the dog-demon's shoulder. "Why, if it isn't--" Inuyasha growled and flicked his servant off his shoulder, effectively shutting him up.

"Pack up," he commanded, turning from the window and dowsing the fire.

"Wha--?" Kagome asked, not moving.

"We're leaving NOW."

***

Kagome watched Inuyasha walking at the head of the group, deep in thought. _He looks so lonely.._ She increased her pace, leaving her place beside where Sango and Miroku were bickering to walk with the white-haired hanyou. She pushed her bike along, watching different emotions chase each other across his face. "Daijoubu, Inuyasha?" she asked after a while.

He looked up at her, slightly surprised, seeming to not have noticed her. He grunted in response, shrugging his shoulders as he looked away. "Why do you ask?" he asked gruffly.

Now it was Kagome's turn to shrug. "You just look so sad."

Inuyasha blinked at her a few times, then turned his gaze back to the road. They walked in silence for a few minutes. 

"What happened yesterday in that village?" Kagome asked quietly, as if choosing her words carefully. "You seemed kinda upset."

Inuyasha's face darkened at that comment. "Feh... I doubt they'll follow us as far east as Kaede's village, so just forget about it," he muttered.

Blink blink. "You didn't answer the question."

"So?"

"So I asked you a question and I want an answer. What's going on, Inuyasha?"

Inuyasha glared at her, then turned away with a derisive snort. "It's none of your business."

"Why? Why won't you tell me?! You never tell me anything!"

"Yeah, well maybe the truth is worse!" Inuyasha snarled. He stood, sucking in deep, angry breaths for a moment, then turned on his heel and stomped down the path.

Kagome watched him go, sadness and anger in her eyes. The others stared from behind her. "What was that all about?" Miroku finally asked.

"Nothing," Kagome replied forcibly, and resumed walking.

***

Later that night, after many threats and warnings directed at a certain hanyou and a certain priest, the girls settled down for a long soak in the hot spring near their camp.

"So..." Sango said casually. "What were you and Inuyasha arguing about earlier?"

"It was nothing," Kagome said , absently looking off into the dark forest.

"Bull shit."

Kagome looked up, surprised. It wasn't like Sango to use such harsh language.

"You were really upset and you've been quiet all day. What did that bastard say to you?" Sango demanded.

"I—Argh!! He just makes me so mad!! He won't tell me anything until we're in the worst situations!! And when I **do** find out, it's usually by accident or I have to pry it out of him!! Like that time with the Spider-Heads! He **knew** he was going to turn human that night and that he wouldn't be able to fight, but he just couldn't trust me enough to tell me!!" Kagome sat back on her rock, angrily crossing her arms over her chest, her jaw jutting defiantly.

Sango watched her friend with practiced calm. These kinds of explosions were normal after an Inuyasha/Kagome fight. "Kagome-chan?" she said softly.

The other girl just sniffled and continued to glare out at the forest.

"Kagome-chan, what were you trying to ask him?" Sango tried again.

"I wanted to know about the demons that were in that village yesterday," Kagome huffed. "But he wouldn't tell me anything. He just said something about Kaede's village being too far east for them to follow and that it was none of my business."

"'Too far east'?" Sango echoed. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Kagome shrugged, "I don't know." After a few moments of silence, the future girl began ranting again. "And who were those demons that were looking for him, anyway?! They didn't cause any trouble in that village, but you'd think Inuyasha would want to fight them just for being there! Instead, he insists that we get out of there!!"

Sango was nodding thoughtfully. "Maybe they were old enemies of his. Like from before the whole thing with Naraku and the Jewel happened." She specifically avoided mentioning the Jewel's protectress, Kikyou.

"Hmm...maybe..." Kagome nodded as well. "He was stuck to the Go Shinboku for fifty years, so all his enemies probably thought he was dead."

"But now that he's awake..." Sango began.

"They're all coming after him again!" they both said at once.

"That baka!!" Kagome growled, shivering despite the warm water. "What if they attack us? If he doesn't tell us, how will we know how to fight them?!" 

"Maybe he was afraid you'd be scared if he did tell you," Sango pointed out. 

Kagome frowned at that. "He did say that the truth was worse than not knowing at all..."

"But what kind demon could frighten him so much that he wouldn't want the rest of us to know about it?" Sango mused. "After all, it's not as if we have no experience as fighters."

"It must be pretty bad. I mean, this **is** Inuyasha we're talking about here." Suddenly Kagome laughed. "Maybe it's another ex-girlfriend!" The girls had a good laugh at the dog-demon's expense, then slowly quieted down. 

"But seriously," Sango said. "I wonder what kind of demons they were." 

"They?"

"Yeah. Houshi-sama said there was a whole group looking for hi—"

"Miroku!" Kagome exclaimed.

"Wha--?"

"He saw the demons!!"

They stared at each other for a moment, then, in the same instant, leapt out of the spring. "Lets go!"

***

Miroku let out a startled yelp as two pairs of hands suddenly appeared and pulled him into the bushes. He was momentarily relieved to see that it was only Kagome and Sango. The relief quickly died when he saw the intense, determined looks on their faces.

"Miroku-sama," Kagome said. "Do you remember what happened in that village yesterday? When that group of demons was looking for Inuyasha?"

"Well, yes, of course—"

"Do you remember what they looked like?" Sango hissed.

"Yes, but--"

"Could you tell what kind of demons they were?" Kagome demanded.

"WOULD YOU TWO CALM DOWN!" Miroku yelled, shocking the girls into silence. "Now, one at a time. What do you want to know?"

"Well," Kagome said meekly. "Do you know what type of demons those were in that village yesterday?"

The houshi rubbed his chin, thinking. "Hmm... They had humanoid forms, but were obviously youkai, because of their pointed ears and claws and such." He closed his eyes, remembering. "The leader, however, seemed to be a hanyou."

"A hanyou?!" Sango gasped, staring at the priest.

"Yes." Miroku opened his eyes. "I suppose they were dog-demons, because the leader was sporting the same canine ears and claws as our own half-breed friend. Now that I think of it, there is definitely a resemblance between the two, save for her coloring and the fact that she was, well, a** she**." 

The two girls sweat-dropped. "You just couldn't help noticing **that**, could you?" Sango said wryly. "But that is interesting, that other dog demons are looking for Inuyasha. I wonder why..."

"Perhaps we should confront him about it?" Miroku suggested.

Kagome shook her head. "I already tried. He just got all defensive and said it was none of my business." She flushed sheepishly. "That's what we were fighting about earlier today."

"Ah, I see. Why don't we just wait and see what happens, ne?" When the girls gave him questioning looks, Miroku continued. "If we are indeed being tracked by dog-demons – and full-blooded ones, at that – I think we can trust that their noses will lead them right to us sooner or later. So the best thing to do is wait and not fret about it." He smiled when the two girls nodded in agreement. 

"However, in the meantime, Kagome-sama, there is a very grouchy half-demon waiting for you who I'm sure wants to talk out this morning's conflict." Kagome began to protest, but Miroku cut her off. "Please, Kagome, at least for Shippou's and my sake, go talk to him."

"You need to work this out," Sango concurred.

The future girl looked back and forth between her two friends and couldn't help thinking bitterly how quickly a conversation could turn on a person. "Fine," she sighed. "I'll go see him." And she set off towards the camp.

***

She found him sitting out on a hill just outside of the campsite, staring up at the star-studded sky. Kagome took a deep breath and approached him. "Inuyasha?" she said softly, coming up behind him. One ear swiveled around at the sound of her voice, but he showed no other outward sign that he had even acknowledged her presence. Kagome wordlessly sat beside him on the soft grass, watching his face.

He had the same almost-sad look on his face that he had worn that morning, and there were once again varying amounts of regret and worry dancing through his eyes. He glanced at her sidelong, then quickly went back to stargazing. 

Kagome looked down at her knees, which were pulled halfway up to her chest. She was speaking before she realized what she was doing. "I wanted to apologize for what happened this morning," she said in a small voice.

Inuyasha remained silent next to her. She was about ready to leave when the sound of his voice stopped her.

"Don't. It was my fault."

Kagome could only stare at him. Had she heard him wrong? He was taking responsibility for the argument? She finally found her voice. "What?" she said intelligently. 

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have gotten so angry." He sighed and looked down at his feet, then up at her. "It doesn't matter anyway. Like I said earlier, she won't follow us all the way to Edo."

Blink. "Who is she anyway? You seem to know whoever's following us." She shivered and almost unconsciously scooted closer to Inuyasha. He didn't seem to notice.

"Yeah... um.." He paused and looked away again, at his feet. "I knew her a very long time ago, but, uh, something happened, and... I guess I didn't think I'd ever see her again." He swallowed, still studying his toes, and Kagome saw several emotions mix and swirl through his eyes.

"Were you... friends..?"

He looked up at her. "I.. suppose you could call it that."

"Oh..." Kagome said, her face sad. Her earlier words came back to her,_ 'Maybe it's another ex-girlfriend!' Is that it, Inuyasha? Were you in love with someone even before you met Kikyou?_

"But if she thinks she can just come trotting over here..." Inuyasha growled, baring his fangs at the night sky, breaking through her thoughts.

Kagome watched his show of anger, then suddenly smiled. Inuyasha glanced at her and asked, "What?" sounding almost like his usual, annoyed self.

The girl looked away, blushing slightly, but still smiling. "It's just... you almost never open up like that. I guess I kinda like it.. when you tell me what's bothering you, what you like or don't like," she looked up at him, "when you talk about stuff in your past."

He just stared at her a moment, then exclaimed, "By the kami, woman! You need a new hobby!"

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Kagome cried. "I've known you for almost a year, and yet I feel like I barely know you at all!" She fell silent, then said with a toss of her hair, "And besides, I** do** have other hobbies."

"Yeah? Like what?"

"Well..." Kagome said. "I like to draw, and.." The twinkling stars above caught her eye. She smiled. "And I like astronomy."

"Oh really?" His eyes sparkled playfully. "You any good?"

Kagome nodded. "I guess... I've memorized a bunch of the constellations, if that's what you mean." She paused scanning the sky. "Like right there! See that?" She glanced at him, pointing at a star. He leaned close to her to see her line of vision. "That's--"

"--Polaris... The North Star..."

Kagome looked at him, smiling slowly. "Yeah."

Inuyasha flushed and looked at the ground again. "I used to use it a lot... when I was traveling alone... I had to depend on the stars to guide me.."

"Oh..." Kagome said, her eyes wide in wonder. She turned back to the skies. "I had to use it once, too," she said quietly.

Inuyasha glanced at her, surprised.

"It was a couple of years ago... I guess I was about ten years old. One time, when I was at summer camp, I went out in the middle of the night on a dare. I got lost on the way back, but I managed to find the North Star and found my way back to camp."

"Huh..."

Kagome sat in reverie for a moment, then looked up at the skies again. She pointed, tracing her finger along a constellation. "You see that one? It's called Ursa Minor – the 'Little Bear.'" She sighed a bit wistfully. "My dad used to call me that. He said I was his little bear." She looked down, smiling even as her eyes began to water. _But that was before he died..._

Inuyasha just watched the emotions move through Kagome's blue eyes, unsure as to how to comfort her. After a moment, he asked, "What about that one?" He pointed at a star, easily the brightest in all the sky.

Kagome looked to where he was pointing and couldn't help smiling. "That's Sirius. The 'Dog Star.'"

"Yeah, I know," Inuyasha said. "I was just wondering if** you** knew it." He paused and gave her a playful, lopsided smile, making Kagome giggle. "Do you have a story for that one too?"

Kagome suddenly tensed. "Well... actually, yes. It's, um, kind of a funny story." She scratched her head and laughed nervously. "You see.. I had, um, asked my mom if I could have a dog. She said there was no place we could keep a dog at the Shrine, but Grampa told me to wish on the Dog Star and I might get a pet for my birthday or something." She looked away, blushing furiously, but continued. "So I did, and that night I had a dream.. about..." she trailed off, her face now easily more red than Inuyasha's kimono.

"About..?" Inuyasha prompted.

She spoke so quietly now that he would not have heard her at all if it weren't for his demonic ears. "I dreamt that sometime, when I was older, I would meet this big.. white... dog...."

Inuyasha blinked a few times. _You... dreamed about.. me..?_ For some reason that thought sent a delightful shiver up and down his spine. He was about to press her further when Kagome shivered. Seeing this, Inuyasha said sternly, "You should go back to camp. It's getting cold out here."

Kagome nodded and turned to look at him one last time, then gasped softly at how close their faces were.

"Uh..." Inuyasha said, his eyes wide and surprised too. When had he gotten so close to her?

"I should probably.. go..." Kagome whispered, her eyes never leaving his.

"Y-yeah.."

Neither moved.

Inuyasha realized that his arm had managed to snake its way around Kagome's waist, and he pulled away quickly, breaking the spell. "Well, go on," he said gruffly, looking away to hide the blush he could feel climbing up his face.

Kagome smiled a bit shakily, then stood and began walking back toward the campsite, leaving the dog-demon alone with his thoughts.

***

She lounged on the branch of a sturdy oak tree, her limbs dangling lifelessly. She'd been so close. He had been right there, in that village. So close! But he had managed to slip out before she could catch him. Oh, when she got her hands on him, she'd really give him a piece of her mind..!

"Lady Ketzia!" one of her men-at-arms shouted, waking her from her thoughts of ringing a certain half-youkai's neck. "I think we've found the scent!"

She was immediately on her feet, sniffing the ground delicately. _Yes… he's been here…_

"M'lady?"

"It's him," she said with a curt nod, and took off through the dark forest.

***

_"I feel like a barely know you at all!"_

Inuyasha gazed down at his sleeping charge, his thoughts troubled. 

_But if you knew me, what would you think? Would you hate me? Fear me? I don't think I could stand that._

Kagome shifted in her sleep, as if she could feel his gaze on her. He closed his eyes, her steady breathing lulling him into a sleep devoid of rest and full of dark memories and wistful dreams.

** ** ** ** **

Well, I revised this chapter and added two more short scenes at the end. They were originally going to be at the beginning of chapter 2, but this way works so much better. ^-^

So far I've gotten two suggestions for the title of this fic: "Sirius" and "Memories from the Past," which are both great titles, although they may not completely fit as the story goes along. The weird thing is, they work perfectly for chapters 1 and 2! ^-^; Thank you **Rita and ****Kagome-sama for your suggestions! **

Also: chapter 2's almost done and should be up soon. Keep your eye out for it!!

R:R&R! (Remember: Read & Review!)


	2. Memories From the Past

The STILL Untitled Fic (argh…) by Jezunya

Chapter 2: Memories from the Past 

I wish I owned Inuyasha… but alas, he belongs to a lucky girl named Higurashi Kagome, and both of them were created by the real-live genius Takahashi Rumiko-sama… However, I _did_ come up with the plot for this fic! ^-^

Ahaha!! At last!! The second chapter!!!! This thing has been rewritten so many times that I was beginning to doubt it would ever get posted… But now, look!!

** ** ** ** **

Her gown swirled around her as he watched her dance. She was all in green, and he in his colors. The song ended and she scampered over to him. "Dance with me!" she laughed, grabbing his hand and pulling him toward the dance floor. He smiled a bit reluctantly and let her drag him out.

"You went away again," she said quietly as the music began to play.

"I had to," he replied.

"I missed you." She looked up at him, her emerald eyes sincere.

"I'll always come back," he said just as sincerely.

She grinned. "And if you didn't, I'd find you and _make you come back!"_

He gave a rare, soft smile. "Ketzia…"

_Ketzia…._

_Ketzia……_

Inuyasha jerked awake. For a moment he just lay frozen on his branch, his claws digging into the bark as he tried to get his breathing back under control. It had been so real… Like he was really there again… He shuddered, pulling himself up into a sitting position and wrenching his claws out of the wood.

After taking a few calming breaths and slowly forcing each muscle in his body to relax one-by-one, the dog-demon looked out over his sleeping companions. They all lay peacefully on their respective bedrolls, completely unaware of whatever had awakened him from his dream.

Inuyasha frowned. What _had_ woken him? He cocked an ear, feeling relief wash through him when he was greeted with all the usual sounds of a living forest. The wind carried no scent of a threat, only the smell of leaves and spices, the smell of healthy trees. Then what..?

A sudden deep, rumbling growl startled him, sending him into full alert again. It took him a moment to realize that it was his own stomach growling. He blinked, feeling an embarrassed flush rising in his cheeks, and sat back heavily on the branch. His stomach growled again, and he growled back, feeling put out that he had gotten worked up over a stupid dream and a little midnight hunger.

His stomach growled again, louder, a small ache building up. Maybe it was more than just a little midnight hunger… He shook his head and rolled over onto his stomach, telling himself to just go back to sleep. However, now on his stomach and thus facing down toward the ground and the girl camped out beneath him, Inuyasha's eyes were drawn to the bulging pack that sat, huge and silent, next to Kagome's sleeping bag. 

His stomach grumbled loudly against being ignored.

There was ramen in the girl's pack, he knew. But to be caught searching through her bag, even on an innocent quest to fill his empty stomach… Only a man with a death wish would risk such a thing.

Grumble, growl.

Of course, starving to death could be just as bed…

The dog-demon gingerly slipped down from his tree, careful not to wake the others. He paused next to Kagome, and almost decided against leaving her …_them… even for a few moments. He had no idea how closely they were being followed; even a short trip into the forest – thus leaving the camp unguarded – could prove to be the end of the chase. He looked over his shoulder, towards the tree line, and scanned the surrounding forest with all his senses, searching for any signs of their pursuers. He found none._

Inuyasha looked at the sleeping girl one more time, and then ran out into the forest.

After several minutes, he came upon the trail of a lone doe. He followed its scent, coming up behind it silently as it paused at a small stream to drink. The only sound it made was the sharp crack of its bones as he deftly broke its neck. He ripped through the soft skin, fully enjoying the raw meat and warm blood, a delicious meal that he had rarely tasted since Kagome began providing them with food.

_I used to hunt all the time… What happened?_ he wondered. Well, for one thing, he now had a source of free food – and it was free _ramen,_ to boot – and for another thing, hunting just wasn't the same without the Pack. Especially without _her_.

"Feh…" Inuyasha muttered as he chewed. It had been too long since he'd seen her… Ketzia. His face softened slightly at her memory. Thick tawny hair, the color of autumn leaves, and laughing emerald eyes, always so mischievous. She was always playful and cute, but she could beautiful and grand, too, when the occasion called for it. _Those were good times,_ he thought unconsciously, then berated himself for sounding liked Myouga-jiji.

But maybe it wouldn't be so bad, part of him reasoned. After all, it had been… What? Nearly a century? It would be nice to see her again. He shook his head, angry with himself for such thoughts. Things were different now. _He_ was different. A hundred years changed a person. Especially a hundred years of questing, fighting, and… No. No, he didn't want to see Ketzia. Not now. 

Inuyasha's tongue darted out, licking up the blood left on his face as he reached for another piece of meat. He froze, his hand poised in mid-air above the deer, as the sharp edge of a katana blade slid across his throat.

***

Something had woken her up, some subtle change in the environment. After a moment or two, it occurred to her that the entire forest had gone dead silent. Even the wind seemed oddly hushed. She sat up in her sleeping bag and looked around groggily, wondering what had brought about her wakefulness. The others still slept soundly, without a certain dog-demon prowling around them at all hours of the night.

_…Without..?_

On an impulse, Kagome glanced up into the tree above her and was further alarmed to see its boughs empty. A faint, cold tingle ran up and down her spine, and she shivered, realizing the meaning: there were demons near. _Where's Inuyasha..? _she thought almost franticly. Surely he was nearby… He wouldn't just run off when they were all asleep, especially after all the fuss he'd made about the youkai following them.

Kagome wrapped her arms around herself, shivering again as she looked out at the eerily quiet forest around her.

***

"My, my, my... One of the Six caught off his guard. Perhaps we should disown you for such carelessness."

"Ketzia."

Ketzia grinned. "Aren't you happy to see me?"

"Oh, yeah. This is just great. I've got a sword stuck in my throat and an annoying little youkai girl breathing down my neck. I'm happy as a labrador."

Ketzia rolled her eyes and gave him a small kick in the butt. "It was necessary. I couldn't have you leaping around and ripping my throat out the instant I made a noise behind you."

"I didn't even smell you."

"Baka! We're in a forest! Of _course_ you didn't smell me!"

"Feh," was his reply.

She rolled her eyes again. "Maybe this will brighten your mood," she said as she withdrew the katana and placed it back in its scabbard at her hip. Inuyasha snorted and swiveled around, still in a crouched position.

She stood grinning down at him, wearing a short forest-green tunic and carrying her long-bow slung over her shoulder. Her hair was pulled back into a loose ponytail with a long leather strip, leaving just enough slack so that her fluffy brown ears could easily move about. "You've grown," Inuyasha noted, looking her up and down.

"No, you're just sitting," Ketzia replied, rolling her eyes again.

"Oh, you're right," Inuyasha smirked, climbing to his feet and finding her head level with his nose. "You're still a midget."

"I am not!" she said indignantly, slapping his shoulder. "I'm a girl! I'm supposed to be shorter than you!"

Inuyasha smirked again and chuckled slightly. "So what are you doing way over here?" he asked, crouching in front of the deer again. _And why are you following me?_ said the look he gave her.

"No reason, really," Ketzia shrugged nonchalantly, standing back to let him eat his fill. When he sat back on his haunches and looked up at her, she moved in, grabbing a piece of meat to munch on. 

Inuyasha watched her suspiciously, and she busied herself with the deer so as not to meet his piercing golden gaze. "You expect me to believe that you left the Citadel out of sheer boredom?" he asked skeptically.

"_You did."_

He snorted. "That was different. I had a mission. I was searching for the Shikon no Tama." 

"And now that you've found it…" she left it hanging, not looking at him.

Inuyasha's eyes narrowed. "Why are you really here?" he asked.

Ketzia squirmed a bit under his glare. "It's nothing. Just… never mind…" she said uncomfortably, and stuffed another morsel into her mouth so she wouldn't have to talk.

Inuyasha continued to glare at her for a long moment. She was hiding something from him. She'd hinted that he'd finished what he'd originally set out to do. And he had, in a way: he'd found the Jewel and challenged its protectress – several times, in fact. So now..? What? She wanted him to return with her? But the Jewel had been shattered, and he hadn't become a full demon. And he couldn't just leave Kagome …and the others, of course. He mentally shook his head. If she wasn't going to come out and say she wanted him back, he wouldn't worry himself about it.

"It's just…" Ketzia began slowly, breaking through his thoughts. "Without you, everything's… different…" She glanced up at him, finally looking him in the eye.

"Ketzia…" 

She looked away again. "We can't fight without you. You know that. Mizuki's out of control without you to balance her. It's almost better to just have the four of us than to have her even try to fight."

"And what _exactly_ are you fighting now?" Inuyasha asked, his tone almost sharp.

Ketzia winced. She hadn't missed that he'd said "you" rather than "we." He really had left them behind… "Shadows…" she mumbled, fingering a piece of meat.

Inuyasha snorted in disgust. "If that's all it is, you're just chasing your tails." He wiped his hands on his pants and stood.

"But –"

"There's nothing left to fight, Ketzia. There was nothing left to fight when I left. We destroyed them. All of them." His eyes were hard, but Ketzia felt a surge of hope when he said "we." Perhaps he was still one of them after all.

"And now I have a different mission," Inuyasha continued. "I have–" 

"—Your own pack now?" Ketzia sniffed pathetically. "You've forgotten about us, haven't you? You've forgotten me." 

Inuyasha scowled and kicked at the ground. "I guess I have been away for a while…" he began, and the girl looked at him hopefully. "But I have other responsibilities now. My… my own pack, as you put it."

Ketzia's face fell. "It's the humans, isn't it?" she said, her tone mournful. 

Inuyasha looked at her sharply. "What about them?"

"That one. The female with the miko powers." Ketzia bit her lip.

"What about her?" Inuyasha asked forcefully.

"She's distracted you." Ketzia looked up at him, deciding bluntness was probably best. "She's the reason you've stayed away so long." Her tone was almost accusing, as if all her life's problems could be pinned on one unknowing human girl.

Inuyasha's eyes narrowed. "What are you saying?"

"I… I don't know." Ketzia deflated, looking away. "Nothing, I guess… I just… O, Kami, everything's so confusing right now…"

Inuyasha snorted. "You can say that again."

"Everything's so confusing right now," Ketzia grinned, then laughed at the dead-pan look Inuyasha gave her. After a few moments she sighed. "I guess I just wish everything could be the way it was before."

"Sometimes change is good," Inuyasha said quietly.

Ketzia looked at him and gave him a strange smile. "Funny… I never thought I'd hear you of all people saying something like that."

Inuyasha shifted his weight around uncomfortably, not meeting her eyes. "A lot's happened, Ketzia."

"I know," she said, looking at him sidelong and still giving him that strange smile. "You fell in love didn't you?" 

"…"

"Don't think you can ignore it. I heard all about _that_." She smirked. "Got a little too frisky with the local priestess, eh?"

"I didn't touch her!" Inuyasha snarled, looking back at her sharply.

She gave him a level look, then smiled softly. "You've changed so much. It's almost like you're not the Inu-chan I knew before," she said wistfully.

"I'm still me," he snorted. 

"I know," she smiled. "And that's why I love you."

Inuyasha didn't respond. After a moment, he looked at her out of the corner of his eye. "What do you want?" he asked wearily.

Ketzia blinked. "What?"

"You're after something. I can tell. What is it?"

"Um…" she flushed and looked down at her hands. "I… I guess I… I want you to come back with me." She looked back up at him, her eyes serious.

Inuyasha nodded somberly, as if to say _That's what I thought,_ then said firmly, "No." 

"What? Why?!" Ketzia cried, jumping to her feet. 

"I told you already, I have other responsibilities," Inuyasha growled, turning away from her. "And taking care of _your_ problems is not one of them."

Ketzia looked outraged. "How can you say that?! This affects you as much as any of the rest of us!" Inuyasha ignored her, marching purposefully back the way he came. "Inuyasha!"

"No, Ketzia," he said, not even stopping to look at her. 

"But–"

"You might as well go home. I can't help you."

"You can't help, or you won't?!" the she-dog burst out in frustration.

"I _can't_," Inuyasha replied coldly, still walking. "And I won't." 

Ketzia opened her mouth, reaching out to him with one hand, but she seemed to change her mind, scowling and letting her hand fall back to her side. "I came here to bring you home, Inuyasha," she said. "And I _will_ do that. One way or another you _will_ return."

"Is that a threat?!" Inuyasha spun around, snarling, but she had already disappeared into the forest.

***

Kagome looked up as Inuyasha pushed through the last of the trees and stepped into the campsite, a troubled expression on his face. "There you are!" she cried, relief coloring her voice. "Where'd you go?"

"Nowhere," Inuyasha growled moodily, coming to crouch in front of her knapsack. He opened the bag and started stuffing the girl's belongings back inside. 

"N-nan de?!" Kagome squeaked.

"Go wake the others. We're leaving," he replied tersely, tossing her shoes at her.

"In the middle of the night? Why?" Kagome asked, pulling on her socks and shoes.

"Same reason we had to keep moving yesterday," Inuyasha grunted. He strapped the pack closed and moved to stamp out what was left of their fire, watching Kagome stumble over to Sango and Miroku out of the corner of his eye.

They were packed and ready to go a few minutes later. Kagome picked up her bike, but Inuyasha grabbed it out of her hands. "Hey! What're you doing?!" she demanded, reaching for the metal vehicle.

"I'm carrying you the rest of the way," he growled back, handing the bike off to Sango, who attached it to Kirara's side. "Besides, it's the middle of the night. You wouldn't be able to see anything," he said, crouching down with his back to her. "You'd probably run into a tree or something and end up just slowing us down."

Kagome made a face at his back, but didn't say anything as she climbed on. A moment later, they took off, Inuyasha leaping easily through the trees and the others riding on Kirara above the trees. Kagome rested her head against the dog-demon's back, watching the forest passing by. Just before the campsite disappeared from her view, she saw two round points of light glitter in the underbrush. Kagome's breath caught, and she tightened her hold on Inuyasha's shoulders, wishing they could get out of this forest as quickly as possible and away from whatever was following them.

** ** ** ** ** 

Just so you know: no, it's not a plot hole. You're not _supposed to know who or what Ketzia and Inuyasha are talking about. These two have more than a little history together, and thus have much to talk about. However, don't just brush aside their conversation either; it's all important. ^-^_

Some Japanese terms you may or may not be familiar with:

**baka** – idiot, fool …I've even seen it translated as "jackass," thou most people simply go with "idiot"

**hakama** – traditional parted skirt; this is the term usually used when referring to Inuyasha's pants, even though it's not entirely accurate. Hakama would be more like what Kikyou and Kaede wear in the anime: pleated pants that are loose at the bottom, instead of gathered like Inuyasha's.

**katana **– a Japanese sword

**Nan**** de? – "What are you doing?"**

**Shikon no Tama** – The Jewel of Four Souls (EVERYONE should know this one!!)

Please review!!! 

[This chapter revised 4/17/03]


	3. How Low Can You Go

"Demon Blood" by Jezunya

Chapter 3: How Low Can You Go

Oh. My. Gosh. IT HAS A TITLE!!!! XD XD XD XD YEAAAAAHHHH!!!!! Yes, for those who aren't sure, this is the 'Untitled Fic' that was posted for so long ^_^

I don't own Inuyasha. I'm not claiming to own Inuyasha. Don't sue me. Especially if your name is Sue. Yes, all you 'Sue's out there, I am mocking you. No, you can't sue me for that. So there.

** ** ** ** **

"Kagome."

"Mm..?" Inuyasha glanced over his shoulder at the girl blinking groggy eyes at him.

"Is there anything you have to get out of the village?" he asked, turning back to watch where he was running.

"Um, no, I don't think so.." she yawned, scrubbing the sleep from her eyes with the back of her hand and holding onto his shoulder with the other. The sun was coming up already; when had she fallen asleep..?

"Good, because we're almost there and as soon as we get back, you're going home."

"What?" Kagome yelped, pushing back away from him in shock, now fully awake.

Inuyasha snarled, barely keeping his hold on her legs when she jerked back so suddenly. "Damn it, girl, do you want me to drop you?!" he barked over his shoulder.

"Sorry," Kagome mumbled, wrapping her arms securely around his neck again. "Just wondering who you are and what you did with Inuyasha.. actually _telling_ me _to go home…" She shook her head, smiling, but sobered when Inuyasha just continued to glare ahead. She sighed. "You're not serious about this, though, right?"_

"Of course I'm serious," he growled, glaring at her out of the corner of his eye. "And I want you to stay there. I'll come get you once all this has blown over."

_'All this'? What?_ "You mean those demons that were following us?" Kagome asked, leaning forward to see his face. His eyes were set determinedly forward, a stony expression on his face, but he did not answer her question. "I don't see why you don't just fight them like any other demon we've faced," she huffed quietly, settling into a more comfortable position on his back. He still remained silent, but Kagome saw his jaw tighten uncomfortably and decided to let the matter drop.

***

A figure clad in a short, forest-green tunic crouched on the branch of a tall, sturdy tree, the green shadows cast by the leaves hiding her easily in the grey morning light. Lucky for her, there were many tall trees lining the edge of the village, giving her an easy hiding place as well as a nice view of the whole area – which was especially good, since Inuyasha and his little pack would be arriving soon. Ketzia snorted to herself. She'd had to run all night, taking a long detour to make sure her scent would not carry over to the other dog-demon, and she'd still managed to arrive before him. It was because of the humans. She knew he could easily outrun her any day of the week, but he'd had to slow his pace so that the humans could keep up.

_Annoying little buggers,_ she thought, resting her head on her folded arms. It wasn't as if she had any particular prejudices against the race – many of the males were much more fun to play with than other youkai – but they always seemed to find some way to mess with her Inu-chan's head. She frowned. She'd nearly lost him to humans before, but now she was losing him in a different way, to a different kind of human.

A girl.

Ketzia's frown deepened. It wasn't like she was jealous of the attention he was giving the little miko or anything, but this girl was distracting Inuyasha from his responsibilities. He had important things to see to, and he couldn't do that if some little human girl had him tied down here in the East.

_He won't come easily, that's for sure. Unless…_ Ketzia rolled her head to the side, an idea forming in her mind. She smiled. A little blackmail never hurt anybody… She looked up, drawn out of her thoughts by the approaching sounds of someone running quickly along the ground.

Inuyasha skidded to a stop on all fours in the middle of the street, little puffs of dust rising from around his hands and feet. He grabbed some cargo – a huge bag and some kind of metal contraption – from the fire cat, then continued out to the forest on the other side of the town, the girl still riding on his back. 

Ketzia watched them go, a mischievous grin once again spreading across her lips. _This is too perfect…_

"M'lady." Ketzia glanced behind her, into the forest. Captain Bannin appeared out of the brush. "They're moving out of the village."

"I know."

"Shall I give the order?"

"No…" Ketzia turned back toward the village, watching the silhouettes of the humans moving about inside the priestess's hut. "I want to handle this myself. Get your warriors into position, and tell them to stay completely hidden. I want him far enough away that his human friends won't be able come help. Then attack."

Bannin nodded and began moving away through the forest.

"Captain?" Ketzia's voice stopped him.

"Nani?"

The half-demon didn't look at him. "Do you think this is just a waste of time? Trying to bring Inuyasha back, I mean?"

Bannin blinked. "I… think you are doing the right thing… For the Clan, for your siblings, and for yourself."

Ketzia smiled slightly. "Thank you."

He nodded once, then turned and hurried into the forest.

***

As promised, Inuyasha carried her straight to the well, barely pausing long enough to retrieve her bike and knapsack. He didn't even let her walk on her own two feet, saying he could get them there faster.

Kagome wondered at this as he hopped through the trees, staying up high rather than taking the trail to the well. He seemed unusually tense, even for Inuyasha. His ears kept swiveling around restlessly, and she saw him casting shifty glances around at the trees more than once. Then she felt it – a demon aura. 

"Inuyasha…" she whispered. 

"What?"

"I think someone's following us."

He stopped abruptly, landing with bent legs on a thick branch. The forest was silent; always a bad sign. The trees were thick enough that he couldn't see anything, but now that he wasn't moving quickly… The scents came to him almost all at once. 

"Shit!!"

Inuyasha took off running again, bolting through the branches on all fours, not even really thinking about whether Kagome had a good hold on him or not. He could see the clearing, the well set in its center. They were out of the trees, almost there, almost—  

Kagome screamed when something pounced on them from behind, throwing her off of him as it latched onto Inuyasha and began to wrestle him to the ground. Clawed hands grabbed her arms behind her back, holding her fast even as she struggled wildly. A few streaks of brown and black shot out of the trees, jumping into the fight against the hanyou. He threw them off and charged toward her, kicking away the one that held her. "GO! Get to the well!" he yelled, before he was engulfed in armor-clad bodies again. Kagome hesitated only an instant, wishing she could help him in some way, before making a dash for the well and taking a running leap into it. 

..Or she would have, if another pair of hands hadn't appeared out of nowhere and snatched her out of the air before leaping off into the trees with her again.

The fight ended rather quickly after that, Inuyasha half-kneeling on the ground while several armored inu-youkai held his hands and arms behind his back. Another, older youkai stepped up in front of him, and Inuyasha looked up into a scarred face he recognized.

"Bannin, what the hell are _you_ doing here? Is there some kind of sick migration out of the West that I didn't know about?"

The dog-demon laughed softly, his mottled brown-and-black hair bouncing as his head moved. It was a harsh sound, though not without mirth. "No, no…" he chuckled. "Actually, I am here assisting Lady Ketzia."

"Great," Inuyasha said sourly, wrenching his arms out of the demons' hands and glaring up at them. "Not a migration, but a conspiracy. Just great…"

"Oh, no. Conspiracies usually involve someone getting assassinated, and we want you alive," Ketzia assured him with a smile and a cheerful wave of her hand, drawing their attention over to where she sat on a thick branch at the edge of the clearing …and to the other figure seated beside her, held in place by the clawed hand around her neck.

"Kagome!" Inuyasha cried, lunging forward, only to be tackled again by Bannin and his soldiers. "Get offa me, you bastards! _Kagome!_"

Ketzia clucked her tongue disapprovingly. "Now, now, calm down Inu. We wouldn't want anyone to get hurt, now would we?" she chided, smiling slightly as her claws played across the girl's throat. Kagome shuddered and squeezed her eyes shut, her entire form stiffening with fear.

Inuyasha stopped struggling, glaring daggers up at the other half-demon. "Ketzia…" he growled warningly.

She grinned playfully, her other hand squeezing Kagome's arm and giving her a small shake for emphasis. "Give me what I want and no one gets hurt."

Inuyasha didn't reply, growling low, narrowed eyes switching from Ketzia to Kagome and back again.

"Or, if you're going to be stubborn, I could just start.. slicing her up.. nice and slow…" She grinned, her claws caressing the human girl's throat almost sensuously. Kagome shuddered before she could stop herself and felt tears begin to prick at the back of her eyes.

_What is wrong with me?_ she thought, wincing as a claw grazed her skin. _I've been in worse situations than this …right?_ But there was something about this particular demon, a strange sense of power floating around her that set her apart from the other youkai in the clearing. Yet, at the same time, it was not dissimilar to Inuyasha's own aura. He had said she was a friend… why was she doing this then?

"What the hell are you after?" Inuyasha barked, unknowingly asking much the same question as Kagome.

Ketzia sighed, half rolling her eyes as she let her hand fall from Kagome's throat to rest on her shoulder. "You already know what I want."

"There is no way in hell I'm going back with you!" Inuyasha snarled up at her. 

Ketzia just sighed again and shook her head. "Then I'm afraid your mate will just have to suffer." In a flash, her hand was at Kagome's throat once again, squeezing tightly, strangling her. Kagome gave a choked cry, her hands reflexively flying up to grip the crushing hand around her throat.

Inuyasha felt his face pale and then turn bright red with rage and a strange kind of desperate fear. "Stop it! Let go of her!!" he roared, straining to get to her even as the inu youkai around him held him back.

Ketzia lessened her grip, allowing Kagome to breathe again. "Giving up already, Inu?" she asked smugly, flashing him a triumphant smirk.

Inuyasha's eyes narrowed to slits and he suddenly stopped struggling. "Keh," he scoffed under his breath. Abruptly, he stood straight, throwing Bannin and his soldiers off of him. Ketzia tensed, watching him in alarm. He took a moment to crack his neck and roll his shoulders after having his arms held behind his back for so long. Then he fixed a disdainful glare on Ketzia, causing the other half-demon to blanch at the look. "Don't even _think_ you can force my hand like that, bitch," he growled angrily. "I will _not be manipulated!" And with that, he spun on his heel and began to march off into the forest, back the way they had come._

Ketzia blinked. "Wha..? But… Aren't you going to save her?!" she demanded at his back. 

"Keh. Kill her already and save me the trouble, will ya?" Inuyasha tossed over his shoulder, not slowing his pace or even looking back. "Bitch is nothing but a fucking thorn in my side anyway…" he muttered, loud enough for them all to hear, as he stalked away. 

Kagome's eyes widened, a deep sense of despair and betrayal welling up inside her. How could he?! After everything they'd been through together! She'd thought they were friends! That he might possibly care about her, even just a little bit! Obviously not enough to save her just one more time.. _Damn him, she thought bitterly, a sudden detached kind of epiphany coming to her that this was what Kikyou must have felt when she had thought Inuyasha had betrayed her. She felt so completely alone. She closed her eyes, not wanting to see him walking away, leaving her to her bloody fate._

Ketzia gaped after the departing half-demon for several moments. "What.. what.. what..? What happened?!" she finally managed. She had been so sure this would work! After how protective he was of the little miko, now he was just leaving her to die? It didn't make any sense!!

Suddenly, her breath caught with a hiss and her eye narrowed to watch Inuyasha's departing figure closely. Of course.

Growling under her breath and glaring determinedly, she let go of the human's neck entirely to reach down and rake her claws up her forearm.

Inuyasha froze mid-step when he heard Kagome scream, spinning around to take in the sight of her slumped over in pain, four long, bloody gashes running up the length of her arm and Ketzia's bloodied hand poised to do more damage at any moment. He swore, making his way back over to them.

"Come home with me, or I'll hurt her again!" Ketzia yelled. Inuyasha gritted his teeth in frustration, growling low. Ketzia matched him glare for glare, closing her hand around Kagome's upper arm, her claws digging into the soft flesh. Kagome cried out in pain again. "Well?!" Ketzia demanded, her hand beginning to glow bright green when he hesitated again.

Inuyasha blanched at the sudden bright flaring of her aura. "Fine! Fine, I'll do it!"

Ketzia still watched him with narrowed eyes. "Swear it!" she barked, her glowing hand digging into her arm further. Kagome screamed at the pain that suddenly snaked through her arm, as if something were actually _inside her, working through her flesh and tearing her apart from the inside out. And it was spreading all over her arm, up to her shoulder…_

"Swear on your name!" Ketzia yelled over Kagome's cries, snarling down at Inuyasha.

He winced as Kagome clawed blindly at her arm, her shrill screams of pain echoing in the trees. "Alright!" he yelled, casting a desperate look at Kagome. "I swear on my name as an heir of Inuyoukai that I will return with you!"

Without a word, but looking grimly triumphant, Ketzia dropped to the ground, still holding onto Kagome, withdrawing her hand as the green glow died down. She scooped up clods of dirt in one hand and pressed them against the wound on her arms. Kagome watched in shocked horror as long, thin vines sprouted in the soil, seemingly drawn out of her flesh, leaving behind an empty, throbbing pain and her arm limp and practically useless. 

"The plants are drawn to the soil more than to flesh," Ketzia said as if that explained everything, smiling at Kagome's shocked and confused look, her entire demeanor having changed in a matter of seconds. "Just a neat little trick I know how to do. You send vines shooting through your enemy's flesh, and they grown extremely quickly, causing tons of pain, as you know first hand, and basically eating them from the inside out." She grinned. "Hey, no hard feelings about that, ri-!!" She was cute off as a clawed hand flashed out, smacking her across the face and sending her flying back a few feet.

"Bitch!" Inuyasha snarled, livid, from his place on the other side of Kagome. "If you ever, _ever_ pull something like that again, I am going to personally make sure you get a slow, _painful death!!" He towered over her, practically shaking with rage._

Ketzia glared up at him from where she lay half-sprawled on the ground, but her expression quickly changed to a smirk, made gruesome by the large purple bruise rising across her cheekbone and nose. "Heh. It was worth it. I got your oath, after all." Inuyasha snarled wordlessly at her, then abruptly looked down at Kagome as the human rose to her feet and turned without a word back toward the village, not looking at any of them.

"Kagome?" Inuyasha called after her, frowning. She ignored him and just kept walking, her head down, her injured arm cradled to her chest. Casting one last glare at Ketzia and a meaningful, disapproving look at Bannin, he took off after her, following at an easy lope to catch up as they entered the forest.

Inuyasha couldn't help grimacing as he followed behind her. She was covered in her own blood, the scent of it clouding around her like a reeking fog. And it was his fault. Ketzia had hurt her to try to get to him. And perhaps more disturbing, was that it had worked! He'd given her his oath, sworn on his name, and he couldn't break that. Silently, he cursed his father for giving him such a name, then pulled a face. Somehow, everything always came back to his scheming oyaji.

He scowled when Kagome caught her foot on a tree root in the path, stumbling a few feet and gasping in pain when the motion jarred her arm. "Oi!" he yelled, quickening his pace to catch up to her, reaching out a hand to grab her good shoulder and get her to face him. "If you're hurt so bad, you could at least let me carr-" 

"Osuwari!"

He plummeted to the ground just before his hand closed over her shoulder, landing with a loud smack and several muffled curses. When he managed to look back up at her, he was seething. "Bitch! What the hell was that for?!"

Kagome turned to face him, her face lined with her own anger, as well as her attempts to not start crying. "D-don't come near me!" she yelled down at him, taking a shaky step away from him, though she didn't really look frightened. Just _very upset._

Inuyasha's brows lowered as she backed away. "What the hell is wrong with you?" he asked, pushing up against the rosary spell, trying to at least get to his hands and knees, if not actually standing. 

"What is wrong with _me_?!" Kagome gasped, her face reddening with anger. "I'm not the one with problems here! You are!"

"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?!"

"How could you say those things?!" Kagome screamed, anger and despair written all over her flushed face. Tears welled up in her eyes, overflowing and running down her cheeks in hot, angry torrents.

"Say _what_ things?!" Inuyasha snarled, her tears only making him more on edge.

"You told her to kill me!!"

There was a long silence as Inuyasha's temper screeched to a stop in its tracks, completely floored by that statement. She actually thought..?!

"And you were going to let her! You didn't even care! You wanted her to!!" Kagome continued after a moment, her voice rising and becoming more shrill with each word. Inuyasha had the distinct feeling that if her good hand weren't taken up with holding her injured arm, she would be pointing at him accusingly and shaking her fist angrily. Then she started to cry – sob, really – letting go of her arm to rub her fist against the hated tears. "You wanted her to.. to…"

Inuyasha stiffened. "It's – It's not like that!" he yelled, lurching to his feet in panic.

Kagome's sobs suddenly quieted as she gave him a hard, disbelieving look. "'Kill her already and save me the trouble'?" she repeated slowly, Inuyasha's eyes widening in horror at his earlier words. "And save you the trouble…" she ground out again. "So when were you planning on doing it? After we defeat Naraku? Once the jewel is complete? Or why not sooner?! You could get rid of me right now! Any time you want! After all, there are other people who can see the shards! You don't even need me to find the jewel for you anymore! You can kill me and then have your precious Kikyou do it for you! After all, I'm nothing but a _thorn in your side!!" She whirled and stomped away, leaving Inuyasha shocked and bewildered behind her. _

The dog-demon didn't know what to do. _She.. she actually _believed_ all that?!_ Didn't.. Didn't she know him at all?! How could she think that?! Her words from the night before came to him, hauntingly, shattering his thoughts, _"I feel like I barely know you at all!" Grimacing, he ran to catch her._

"Oi!!" he yelled, leaping out in front of her again. "Don't tell me you actually believed all that shit back there!"

Kagome watched him with narrowed, red-rimmed eyes. "And just what am I supposed to believe?" she asked, her voice gravely from all the screaming and crying she's been doing.

Inuyasha opened his mouth to reply, but found himself at a loss for words. How was he supposed to respond to an accusation like that? At his silence, Kagome just nodded, her mouth forming into a grim line, unshed tears shining in her eyes, and moved to pass him, once again making her way to the village. At least there, she'd have Sango-chan and Miroku-sama to protect her…

She heard Inuyasha take a step behind her, then hesitate. "Kagome…" She could almost see him reaching a hand out toward her, but then letting it drop, a surly, defeated expression on his face as he looked away. She closed her eyes tightly and continued walking, willing the tears away.

"You know," she said quietly, not looking back but slowing momentarily to talk. "I really thought I knew you.. I really thought you were my friend for a while there." She sighed, shaking her head as she began to cry again. "But I guess I was wrong."

Inuyasha watched her continue on to the village after that, his mouth gaping open in horror. He collapsed to the forest floor, he knees just giving out all of a sudden. He just sat, staring, disbelieving. Could this.. really be happening? Could Kagome really _possibly_ think that of him?

_"I really thought you were my friend…"_

He closed his eyes, burying his face on his hands. 

_"How could you say those things?!"_

He groaned, feeling his head beginning to pound painfully. What had he done..?

** ** ** ** **

Oh my gosh… I can't believe I actually finished this thing! It has been so long since my last update! Heh. What a horrible chapter ending, ne? Kagome thinks Inu's out to kill her, Ketzia & her crew are still hanging around, and they got Inuyasha to swear to go to the Western Domain with them! And it's an oath that he said himself he can't break (you'll see why.. and the significance of 'his name.')

Anyway, in the way of notes… Don't worry about Ketzia and the weird little thing she does… it'll all be explained in the next chapter (and later chapter-ZAH), I swear. And, of course, Inuyasha's thoughts about his 'scheming oyaji.' You'll see! ^_^ See how much you can figure out on your own for now, tho ^_~

**Nani?**** – What?**

**Oyaji –** rude form of 'father'; this is how Inuyasha speaks of his father ^_^


	4. Shadows

"Demon Blood" by Jezunya

Chapter 4: Shadows

Me no own Inu-chan *sniffle sniffle*

Jeez, 12 whole pages!! When I only had like 9 two days ago! See, you guys keep pestering me and I write faster! ^_^ Oh, and this chapter picks up right where the last one left off, so you may want to go back and re-read the very end of Ch 3 again ^_~ 

Enjoy!

** ** ** ** **

"Inuyasha! Inuyasha!"

He came to at the insistent shaking of his shoulder, slowly cracking open his eyes to find Ketzia crouched over him, peering down at him worriedly. He pushed her away and sat up slowly, groggily wondering when and how he had ended up lying on the ground. 

"Are you alright?" Ketzia asked, sitting back on her heels to give him some breathing room. Bannin and his soldiers stood around them in a loose circle.

He nodded, slowly, looking dazed. "I think so… What happened?"

"I don't know…" Ketzia replied, frowning. "We heard you two fighting, but when we got here the girl was gone and you were just lying there, like you'd blacked out or something." Her frown deepened, looking suspicious and worried. "She didn't use her powers on you, did she?"

Inuyasha shook his head no, trying to clear the fog from his mind. What _had happened? Kagome had gone back to the village, he'd sat down, and then.. nothing. He couldn't remember being attacked or feeling sleepy, or anything, but then he was suddenly waking up on the ground. He squeezed his eyes shut and forced himself to his feet. He needed to find Kagome._

"Are you sure you're alright?" Ketzia frowned, following after his stumbling steps. 

He shook his head but said, "Yes! Go away! I need to find Kagome…" 

Ketzia stopped walking after him, letting him continue on to the village on his own. "Heh. Yeah, you _really_ need to talk to her," she smirked. "I can't believe you said those things. Man, you ain't gettin' any for a month!"

"Getting any what..? What the hell are you talking.. about..?" he asked, looking back only to find that the dog-demons had already retreated into the forest. Growling his annoyance, he turned back to the path, scrubbing at his forehead in an attempt to alleviate the headache building up there. 

Distracted as he was with the pain in his head, he didn't notice the figures running towards him until he heard the battle cry.

"Hiraikotsu!!"

"Aah!" Inuyasha barely managed to dodge as the giant boomerang sliced through the ground where he'd just been standing. Landing in a crouch, and grimacing when the impact sent a jolt of pain lancing through his head, he looked toward the two humans standing on the path between him and the village. Sango and Miroku glared back at him, both looking ready to battle him to the death if need be. "What the hell are you doing?!" he snarled, beginning to rise to his feet, hands clenched into fists in front of him.

"Shut up, bastard!" Sango yelled back, reaching up to catch her weapon as it came flying back to her. "You die here!"

"What?!" He looked to Miroku. "What the hell is she babbling about?!"

The monk's face only darkened further, his own frown deepening. "You will not get past us, Inuyasha," he said grimly.

Inuyasha's eyes widened. "The hell-?!" And then they both came at him.

Miroku tried several times to paralyze him with his ofuda, but he managed to dodge all of his attempts, and it was actually Sango who really gave him trouble. While she hadn't changed into her full battle gear, she did always wear her black cat-suit under her yukata, and so didn't have any qualms about hiking up her skirt to get in several good kicks. The hidden blades on her forearms were also rather troublesome, and she managed to get a few nasty cuts across his stomach before he could avoid them.

Miroku had just thrown down his sealing scrolls and shakujou to unleash the kaza'ana when a new voice cried out from behind them.

"Stop it!" Kagome yelled, running towards them as best she could with her injured arm. "Sango-chan, Miroku-sama, stop it, please! Don't fight!"

Sango paused long enough to glare at the younger girl. "You're defending him?! After what he did?!"

Kagome slowed to a stop a few paces from them, her eyes flickering to Inuyasha, hunched over holding his stomach and glaring up at her, before looking up at the other girl. "Sango-chan…"

"Kagome-sama, you are a very forgiving person, but this.." Miroku trailed off, gesturing slightly to Inuyasha, who growled up at him.

Kagome looked at the ground, her hand clenching on her injured arm, now hanging in a sling across her chest. She blinked her eyes several times as they began to shine with tears. "Just.. don't fight each other… please…" Her eyes flickered to Inuyasha once more before she dropped her gaze and turned back toward the village.

Sango and Miroku exchanged glances before both following after her, the taiji-ya giving Inuyasha a sharp kick in the side as she passed. He yelped and jumped away a few feet, snarling at her back. "Kagome-chan," Sango called, jogging up beside the young miko. "Kagome-chan, why are you..?"

"Just leave him alone, Sango-chan. Inuyasha can do what he wants…" Kagome sighed, closing her eyes as if in pain.

"But he tried to kill you!"

Miroku frowned deeply from his place on Kagome's other side. "If he is a threat, Kagome-sama, I really don't think we should let him stay here…" Kagome just shook her head and sighed again, wincing and shifting her bad arm.

A low growl was all the warning they got before Inuyasha pounced, grabbing Kagome roughly around the middle and leaping off into the trees with her, ignoring the outraged and shocked shouts of the other two humans as they began to give chase.

Kagome gasped, trying to struggle out of his grasp. "Inuyasha..!"

"Shut up!"

She whimpered, and gave one more weak push against his arms, then gasped again and tried to brace herself as he dropped onto a thick branch high up from the ground. Inuyasha growled deep in his chest, trying to hold her still as she began to struggle again. He wanted to yell at her, tell her that, damn it all, she didn't need to be afraid of him! She _shouldn't_ be afraid!! Growling angrily, he sat against the trunk of the tree and arranged her in his lap so that her back was against his chest and he had his arms around her middle, careful of her injury.

"I-Inuyasha.." Kagome began in a small, frightened voice, trying to pull away from him even as he held her tight.

"Shut up. We need to talk," he growled, glaring over her shoulder. "Well, more like _I need to talk and __you need to listen." Kagome shivered despite the warm breeze blowing around them, her scent becoming even more filled with her fear._

"Inuyasha-"

"I told you to shut up! Now listen!"

He could feel her scowl. "Osu-" Inuyasha clapped a hand over her mouth before she could finish the command. 

"Not unless you want to smash us both," he growled next to her ear, squeezing the arm still around her for emphasis. She whimpered and he removed his hand from her mouth.

"Why..?" Kagome choked out, her voice sounding near tears.

Inuyasha eased his hold on her, allowing her to lean away from him slightly, and looked away guiltily. "I didn't mean any of it.." he finally said lamely.

Kagome sniffled, making Inuyasha wince. Why did he always make her cry? "How can you say that?" she asked, still bent over away from him. "You were going to leave me there.. You _were_ leaving me there! How can you expect me to believe you didn't mean it? Do I really look that stupid to you?!" She curled into herself, her sobs shaking her entire form.

Inuyasha growled and pulled her back up against him, abruptly cutting off her sobs. "The idea was," he growled, his face once again right by her ear, his chin practically resting on her shoulder, "that Ketzia would forget about you and come after me instead."

Kagome quieted, trying to take in what he'd said. Finally, blinking back her tears, she just whispered again, "Why..?"

Inuyasha shifted uncomfortably. He really didn't want to talk about this. All she needed to know was that he'd outright lied to Ketzia about killing her and that he'd sooner kiss Naraku's furry baboon butt than harm her. His reasons for such feelings, however, were quite a more awkward subject (heck, he didn't half understand them himself!) He took a deep breath – he had to tell her something:

"Ketzia generally won't hurt people without reason," he began awkwardly, "but she loves threatening people to get them to do what she wants. If you just tell her 'no' enough, she'll eventually just give up and leave you alone. So…"

"So you thought she'd do that if you said you didn't care about me." Kagome abruptly pulled away from him, and he let her, watching wearily as she shuffled down the branch to sit sideways, her legs dangling off into the air. She looked down at her knees, fingering the sling around her arm as a sad, thoughtful frown worked its way onto her face. "You could always get someone else to find the shards…" she finally said quietly, not looking up.

Inuyasha immediately bristled. "Damn it, bitch, that's not-!" But then he caught himself, rearing back slightly, his face reddening. 

Kagome turned a wry, humorless smile on him. "What, now you're going to try to tell me that you don't care about the Shards anymore?" She looked away again, scoffing in an almost too-perfect imitation of the hanyou beside her, "Right.."

Inuyasha could feel his flush deepening even as he glared at her. "No! I just-" He growled in frustration when Kagome sighed and shook her head again, slamming a fist against the tree branch, making her jump. "Damn it, Kagome! When are you gonna get it through your head that this _isn't_ about the Shards, _at all!_ This is about _you!!_"

Kagome made a disgusted noise in the back of her throat, turning one of the fiercest glares he'd ever seen on him. "Please. You think I'm an idiot? We all _know that all you care about is the Jewel – well, the Jewel and Kikyou, anyway. And you know what? I'm sick of it!" Inuyasha looked like he was about to try and interrupt, an absolutely furious expression on his face, but Kagome just plowed on, fueled by her own pent-up anger. "And you know what else? This isn't even the first time you've tried to get rid of me!"_

"WHAT?!"

"Oh don't act so shocked," Kagome sneered. She turned so she was facing him completely and began ticking things off on her fingers, "Of course there's all the times you tried to do me in when we first met-"

"I didn't know you back then!!"

"You don't know me now!" Kagome shot back, then continued, "You were perfectly happy to tear apart the story I told to the Thunder Brothers – which, I might add, was my _only defense!_"

"That's not what I- You told them we were lovers!!"

"And then of course there's the time when you stole the Jewel Shards from me and trapped me in the future," Kagome continued as if he hadn't spoken. "And when you refused to help when we were fighting that toad demon with Nobunaga!"

"I wasn't-" 

"And when you left me to get pulled down to Hell with that little ghost-girl, Mayu!"

"But that's not-"

"AND we can't forget all the times you've covered for Kikyou after SHE'S tried to kill me!!"

"When has Kikyou tried to kill you?!" Inuyasha practically screamed at her, finally able to get a word in. Kagome just glared at him, then slowly shook her head, her lip curling slightly. 

"Honestly, I don't know how you can keep going on like this," she muttered angrily. "Do you really think-"

"Would you just shut up already?!" Inuyasha snarled, cutting her off, getting up onto his knees so he towered over her sitting form. "I don't know where you're getting all this shit, but it's not true!!"

"Oh?" Kagome asked coldly.

"Yeah! I refused to help that _idiot_ Nobunaga because of his stupid little anti-killing crusade, but I saved _your sorry ass when the toad attacked you," he yelled right back at her. "And I _tried_ to stop that Tatari Mokke thing, but it just grabbed you and disappeared! AND I think we both know why I sent you back to your time after the fight with Sesshoumaru!"_

Kagome scowled up at him, "Oh really? Enlighten me."

A frustrated snarl practically clawed itself out of his throat. "_Do you have ANY idea how close you came to DYING in that fight?!" he roared, his golden eyes blazing with fury._

Kagome frowned at him, though she seemed to be more on the defensive now. "It's not like I haven't been in dangerous situations before.." she muttered, looking away sullenly.

"That was different," Inuyasha said firmly, glaring at her closely. "Sesshoumaru could probably slaughter Naraku, no sweat – and you think I was gonna let you keep hanging around here when the two of them had _joined forces?!" _

Kagome just looked down at her feet, not answering. If he had really wanted to get rid of her, then why keep saving her all the time? Especially when Kikyou was there, you'd think he'd completely forget about Kagome and get_ her to help him instead. But… Kagome shook her head. Even she couldn't deny (now that she had calmed down and wasn't so blindingly angry at him) that Inuyasha had saved her life hundreds of times, often getting himself injured or even almost killed in the process. She sighed, closing her eyes.._

..And felt herself begin to slide off the branch.

Kagome gasped, feeling a scream building up in her throat as her eyes focused on the ground a good fifty feet below, already rushing up to meet her. But then Inuyasha's arm shot out, grabbing her around the middle, and hoisted her back up to safety.

They just sat for a minute, both breathing hard, Kagome crushed against Inuyasha's chest with his arms so tightly around her that it seemed like he might never let go. But then they seemed to remember themselves, and pulled apart, both blushing and trying to look anywhere but at each other.  

"Um, thanks," Kagome mumbled, still blushing and brushing a stray strand of hair behind her ear nervously.

"Yeah…" Inuyasha looked away, feeling rather awkward.

"Look, Inuyasha," Kagome said after a long silence. "I.. I'm sorry.. for jumping to conclusions like that, but…" She swallowed hard, then continued quietly, "But, even if you don't really mean it… it still hurts when you say those things."

Inuyasha could only stare at her for several moments, not knowing what to say. Of course, deep down, he knew she couldn't be completely immune to all his scathing remarks and name-calling. He'd seen himself how she flinched at his words sometimes, but most often he could force himself to ignore it and just keep going. If she backed off whenever he was mean or rude, then she'd never be able to get close enough to find a weakness in him, right? So.. So it was for both of their good! …Right?

Kagome was looking down at the ground again, almost as if she was trying to figure out some way of getting down from the tree without splattering on the forest floor in the process. He sighed and offered her a hand. "C'mon… Miroku and Sango are probably looking for us…"

Kagome started and looked down at the hand that was held out to her. It was strange, how she'd never noticed how sharp his claws were before.. How many lives had ended with a slash of those claws? Her eyes traveled up his hand and what little of his forearm that was visible before it disappeared into his billowing red sleeve. His hands alone held inhuman strength, strength enough to break bones, demolish brick walls, crush the life out of anything within their grasp, and all with very little effort. He was a predator, a dangerous killer. How could it be that this had never occurred to her before?

She looked up from his hand to his face, to find golden eyes burning into her own. She, of all people, knew that he wasn't one to express himself in words, and she knew a peace offering when she saw one. He was asking her to trust him again, to place her safety and security, her very life, in his hands once more.

Without hesitation, she reached out and took his hand.

***

When they got back to the village, after making a quick stop by the well where Kagome's bike and backpack had been dropped, the villagers all seemed more surprised than usual to see them, not the least of which being Kaede herself. 

The old miko arched the brow over her good eye when she saw them, giving them both a cool look as Inuyasha strode in, carrying Kagome in a slightly unorthodox position. Due to the girl's injured arm, she hadn't been able to hold onto his back, so Inuyasha had had to carry her in his arms, bridal style. Both blushed at her look, and Inuyasha quickly set her on her feet, then turned to set the bike and pack in the corner of the room. 

"I had not expected you to return…" She trailed off, leaving it hanging as she stirred the fire in the center of the room. She hadn't expected them to return _at all._

"Keh," Inuyasha muttered, fiddling with the knapsack, keeping his back turned. 

Kagome glanced over at him from where she had seated herself by the fire, before speaking softly. "We.. just needed to talk. I guess.. everyone was just overreacting…"

"Amen to that!" a new voice said loudly, and they all looked up at the green-clad figure crouched on the window sill. Ketzia grinned and waved at Inuyasha. 

It took about 2.5 seconds for Inuyasha to recover from shock and for his face to change into a furious bright red storm cloud. "What the _hell are you doing here?!"_

Ketzia just grinned and sat back on her heels, balancing precariously on the narrow window ledge. "What, you didn't think I was just gonna up and leave, did you? And after getting your oath and everything?" She shook her head, still grinning, "I thought you would have known better than that, Inu-chan."

Kagome blinked and twisted to look up at Inuyasha. "Inu-chan?" she repeated, raising an eyebrow as he blushed and glared murderously at the tawny-haired youkai across from them. 

Ketzia just grinned back at him, before her face became slightly more serious. "Actually, I wanted to know where we should make camp while we're here.. You know, with Bannin and his soldiers and all…"

Inuyasha blinked, looking surprised, but then his face hardened again. "Whatever. Anywhere in the forest's fine, just stay out of the village."

"What, I can't come visit you?" Ketzia asked, making her eyes large and dewy.

Inuyasha growled, closing his eyes in aggravation. "Fine! Just keep your little horde out of sight!"

Ketzia grinned and saluted smartly. "Yes sir!" She looked about to leap back off the window sill, when she stopped and looked back at Inuyasha. "On second thought," she said, frowning, "we really should be going as soon as possible, so you'd better gather up anything you'll be taking with you.." None of them missed the rather pointed look she gave Kagome just before she left to disappear into the forest again.

"What was that all about?" Kagome asked, after a minute of slightly shocked silence.

Inuyasha just growled under his breath and started to make his way out of the hut. He knew what that was about. Despite Ketzia's playful, often disrespectful-seeming actions, she knew as well as any other dog demon where the authority lay with those around her. And of course, she never passed up a chance to remind him – even in something as small as asking him where they could make camp. It was a pretty obvious statement: it's your territory, you're the one in charge, so I have to ask permission about everything. He growled to himself and trudged out into the trees to go find her and give her a piece of his mind.

Unfortunately though, something else found him first.

***

Sango sighed miserably as they trudged along. They had tried to follow Inuyasha and Kagome out into the forest, but it had been a completely fruitless search. They could find no sign of either the dog-demon or the future girl.

She squeezed her eyes shut, willing the tears that tried to rise behind them. For all they knew, Kagome was already dead. Part of her didn't want to believe that what Kagome had told them was true. Inuyasha couldn't possibly have betrayed her..! But the reasonable side of her mind always won out, and she knew she would have to accept it. Inuyasha was simply an evil, conniving demon just like all the other youkai they'd ever fought. He'd probably been plotting to kill all of them for a long, long time. 

Miroku gasped beside her, and Sango looked up at him questioningly, then at the path in front of them where he was staring. She could only gape at the sight. 

***

Ketzia stopped in her tracks, halfway back to where she had left Bannin and the soldiers, when a cold thrill ran through her. She knew this feeling. It wasn't as strong as if she or her own counterpart were being attacked, but it was there all the same, nearby.

Shadow. 

She turned and sprinted back the way she had come, real fear written on her face.

***

"What happened?! He's not breathing!"

"You don't think he's..?"

"I don't know." Sango stood, moving away from the body, averting her eyes of the sight of their until-recently good friend, lying there, apparently dead. 

Inuyasha lay sprawled out on the forest floor, his limbs splayed at odd angles and his face scrunched up as if he were thinking hard. Only he looked… dead. Miroku placed a hand on his chin, not sure what to make of it. Had Kagome used her miko powers on him and then fled back to the village? It was possible, but then wouldn't his flesh be burnt..?

"Move it!!"

The two looked up just as a tawny-haired half-demon came charging in between them, kicking up dirt and brush from the forest floor as she came to a skidding stop in front of Inuyasha's body. She immediately dropped to her knees, her hands going to his face and chest.

"Shit!" Ketzia swore, jerking her hands back. "His skin's like ice!"

"You.." Miroku breathed, taking a step toward the hanyou. "You're that demoness who was looking for Inuyasha.."

Ketzia just growled wordlessly and scooped up the other demon, before turning and taking off in the direction of the village.

"Hey, wait!" Sango yelled, but she was already gone. Grumbling angrily under her breath, she and the houshi set out to follow her.

***

"…so I guess he was trying to trick her into letting me go by-" Kagome and Kaede's conversation was cut short as Ketzia came barreling into the hut, breathing hard and looking around desperately with a certain white-haired hanyou in her arms. 

"Fire!" she croaked, lurching towards the cooking fire in the center of the room and dropping Inuyasha unceremoniously on the floor.

"W-What happened?!" Kagome asked, starting to get up, worried eyes going from Ketzia to Inuyasha and back again. 

"Hurry! We need to get this fire going! It needs to bigger, and hotter!" Ketzia yelled, ignoring her question. She shoved Kaede's pot of herbs off of the cooking fire and started piling on more logs.

"What are you doing?!" Kagome asked, staring at her as she worked. 

"We have to save him!" Ketzia snarled, finally answering her. "The idiot went and got himself attacked! I _warned _him, but he didn't listen, the baka! Inu no baka, baka!" Kagome was surprised to see the first trace of tears shining in her eyes as she continued to build up the fire. 

Finally, Kaede turned away from where she had been inspecting Inuyasha's body. She placed a comforting hand on Ketzia's shoulder. "Child, calm yourself. There is nothing we can do for him now.."

"What?!" Kagome demanded, snapping her gaze up to the elderly miko, while Ketzia just threw off the hand and resumed her task.

Kaede looked pityingly down at the two of them, Kagome staring up at her with glistening eyes, and the hanyou girl with her back to her, still building the fire for some reason. "I am sorry, Kagome," she sighed, looking away. "He's gone." The girl just continued to stare up at her wide-eyed. She must have been in shock or something… Sighing again and shaking her head sadly, the old miko turned and left the room, leaving the girls with their grief.

Kagome swallowed hard, still staring into space even as tears began streaming down her face. "But he can't be.. be… d…"

"He _isn't!_" Ketzia snarled, suddenly whirling around and leaping to her feet. In one swift motion, she had swung around and hoisted Inuyasha up into her arms again. Moving significantly slower, she took a heavy step towards the now blazing fire, and dropped him onto it. 

"No!" Kagome cried, but she too slow to stop her, and could only stare in horror as Inuyasha settled down in the fire, seeming to almost use the logs as a pillow. Was.. Was Ketzia planning to cremate him..? But she had said he wasn't… wasn't… She closed her eyes and looked away as the tears began to fall. She couldn't even say it…

She looked up suddenly at a small sound in front of her. It sounded like a sigh, almost… and it had come from Inuyasha! Her eyes widened as he shifted, his face scrunched in discomfort, then finally settled down, his chest rising and falling with each even breath, now looking like he was merely sleeping.

"Wha-what..? How..?"

Beside her, Ketzia chuckled and then let out a relieved sigh. "He's gonna be okay, now," she said tiredly, leaning back against the wall and closing her eyes, letting herself relax at last. 

"What..? But how..? I mean, Kaede said…"

Ketzia cracked one eye open to look at her. "He wasn't _dead, if that's what you're asking. The idiot was just 'playing dead.'" She grinned at the look Kagome gave her. "I know, I know, bad pun, but there's really no other way of saying it. When he was attacked, his body just shut down. Unfortunately, it's only a good idea if you have someone right there to revive you, or else you really_ will_ die." Her face darkened into a scowl again. "Inu no baka…"_

Kagome pursed her lips, watching Inuyasha's peaceful form in the fire. "What.. what attacked him?" she asked quietly, glancing over at Ketzia.

The half-demon sighed, rubbing her forehead tiredly. "A Shadow."

"What?" Kagome asked, giving her an odd look. 

"His Shadow," Ketzia repeated more emphatically. "He was out alone in the forest and it attacked him."

Kagome shook her head, frowning, "I don't understand.."

Ketzia let out a long breath, trying to think of how to explain it. It was a strange enough concept for youkai to grasp, much less a human girl like Kagome. "I guess, we have to start with our powers," she said softly, closing her eyes.

"Powers?"

She nodded. "There are six of us. Fire, Water, Earth, Plants, Light, and Dark. We form a… a team, I suppose. As you probably guessed, my power is with flora, plants. Inuyasha's is fire." 

"What do you mean? Like he can control fire or something?"

Ketzia opened her eyes and looked over at Kagome, nodding and raising an eyebrow at the slightly confused look on the human girl's face. "What, you've never seen him throw fireballs at anyone?" she asked, half-grinning. "That's like his favorite trick!"

Kagome shook her head, not returning the smile. "No, but.. there have been a couple of times, I guess, when he got blasted by fire but he acted like it was nothing. And not just his usual 'I'm a tough guy who can take any hit you throw at me' routine," she added, smiling at the demon girl now. "It was like he was actually on fire, but it wasn't burning him at all. I guess I always just assumed it was because he was half-demon.."

Ketzia shook her head, still smiling slightly to herself. "No.. I mean, we _were all born with our powers, but it's got nothing to do with his demon blood…"_

Kagome nodded, letting her gaze fall back to Inuyasha's still figure in the flames. There were a few moments of nothing but the sound of the fire crackling and Kaede shuffling around in the back room, sorting her herbs and medicines, before Kagome spoke again.

"So.. what's with this Shadow thing?" she asked softly, not taking her eyes off of Inuyasha.

Beside her, Ketzia sighed again. "I was a bit surprised Inuyasha hadn't told you about all this, but…" She shook her head and sat up straight, preparing for another long explanation. "The six of us have these.. amazing powers to control nature, but.. it comes with a price, I suppose." She frowned down at the floor, trying to think of a good way to phrase her words. "There is another world, just like ours, but opposite, I suppose. It's made up of the shadows cast by things in this realm," she told her. "Because we are in a way connected to nature through our powers, the same link is formed between the other side of nature and our Shadows." She stopped and looked over at Kagome, her words quiet, "And through that link, they can come to _this_ world."

Kagome shivered involuntarily and frowned over at the she-dog. She still wasn't quite sure what Ketzia was talking about, but the way she said it made it sound like something out of a horror film. "I'm guessing that's not a good thing…"

"No, it's not," Ketzia agreed, shaking her head. "They come to cover everything in darkness, to consume this world… Especially the six of us." She stared down at the floor, biting her lip. "If we were to be overcome by our Shadows, they would posses us, taking our bodies and devouring our minds and souls." She glanced up at Kagome, half-grinning again, "Or, that's the theory, anyway.."

Kagome raised her eyebrows at that. "So, you don't really know..?"

Ketzia shook her head. "No. We're all still here – none of us has been overpowered by our Shadow.. yet, anyway…"

"Yet?" 

Ketzia hesitated, a flash of grief darting across her face before she composed herself again. "Two of us would be easy targets – Yoru, because his powers come from darkness anyway, so it wouldn't take much for his Shadow to get to him, and Mizuki. She.. she lost her mate recently, and it's putting a bit of a mental and emotional strain on her, as you can imagine…"

Kagome brought one hand up to her mouth, aghast. "That's.. That's terrible," she said softly, sympathetically. Ketzia nodded, swallowing thickly.

After several moments of silence, Ketzia spoke again quietly. "Actually, I guess I wasn't being completely honest. Inuyasha's really the one I'm most worried about," she said, her eyes straying to the other sleeping half-demon. 

"What do you mean?" Kagome asked, frowning thoughtfully.

"Inuyasha's power is fire, like I told you," she said, looking over at the human girl. "And tell me, what is greater than fire? It consumes plants and boils water away. It lights up the darkness, but at the same time obstructs daylight with its smoke. Hell, it'll even burn earth and stone, if it's hot enough." She looked back at the other half-demon, frowning to herself. "Inuyasha is the most powerful of us all, and yet he was taken out so easily today." She looked away, shaking her head. "First of all, if Inuyasha, our leader, can be overcome by his Shadow that easily, then what chance could the rest of us possibly have? And second – if his Shadow were able to possess him, it would have access to and control of all of his powers. There would be no way we could defeat him!"

Kagome just stared at her, her mouth hanging open slightly, wondering at all the information she'd just been given. How could this all be true? Inuyasha had special powers, and not just the ones that came from him being half-demon? And these Shadow things… What if they started to come after them as well? What if they had to fight these things, along with searching for Jewel shards and fighting Naraku? And, what if the Shadow _did_ manage to possess Inuyasha? What would they do? What _could they do? She shivered. No matter how she looked at it, it seemed that a whole new dimension of danger had just been added to their quest. _

Beside her, Ketzia began to stand, drawing Kagome out of her thoughts. "Well, I probably shouldn't stay in here too long, if he's going to be healing himself," she said, standing and stretching up toward the ceiling. 

Kagome frowned up at her, beginning to struggle to her feet as well while cradling her injured arm "What do you mean?" 

Ketzia grinned ruefully, glancing over at the sleeping hanyou. "Fire is a power of destruction, while mine is one of growth, so it's sorta like I'm on the other end of the spectrum from him – which, of course, means I'm probably not helping him much by being in here with my aura clashing with his."

"Oh.. should we leave him alone, then?" Kagome asked, looking back at the sleeping half-demon anxiously.

Ketzia blinked, then shook her head. "No, you stay. You'll be able to protect him from the Shadow while he's still weak like this."

"What?"

Ketzia let her gaze drift back beyond Kagome to Inuyasha. "He really is a fool, you know, falling for a woman like that… But funnily enough, even after they had their little falling-out, the miko-bitch's spell actually protected him from his Shadow all that time when he was asleep. Shadow or light of this world, we're still youkai. And purifying power is the only thing I know of that can actually counteract us or our Shadows. And girl, you are practically _glowing with the stuff!" She grinned at Kagome's surprised look and turned to push her way out of the hut, letting the flap fall back behind her. _

_So you'd better keep him safe, miko,_ she thought as she took off into the forest again. Of course, her next thought was much less dark and was simply about how glad she was to be out of that village. All those buildings of dead wood were giving her the heeby jeebies!

Kagome watched Ketzia go, before slowly turning to look back at Inuyasha's peaceful form. She came and knelt by him again, watching his chest rise and fall with each breath he took, his ears twitching around at random sounds every once in a while. He would be okay ..right?

_He has to be,_ she thought, settling herself back against the wall again, not taking her eyes off of him. 

_He _has_ to be…_

** ** ** ** **

And that's it for this chapter! ^_^ So whadya think? This is the longest chapter so far, by several pages, so I hope you guys appreciate this! Not to mention this was a relatively fast update compared to what I was doing before.. ~_~;

Now, I know I had a notice about this up in my profile for a while, but in case you didn't see that, I'm repeating myself here: THIS IS INU/KAG! PERIOD. There is no way I would ever break up that coupling, especially considering that they are my absolute #1 favorite animanga couple! So don't bother saying in a review, email, IM, whatever, that you think it should be Inu/Ketz (*shudder*) or any other alternate pairing, cuz it ain't happening.

Anyway.. I sorta feel like not much happened in this chapter, although you guys did get hit with a lot of info.. Holler if you're confused, but do keep in mind that even after Ketzia's rather lengthy explanation, that's still not the whole story ^__^

**Inu no baka –** Stupid Inu!

**Kaza'ana –** Miroku's Air Rip

**Ofuda –** Miroku's sealing/purifying scrolls

**Shakujou –** Miroku's staff

Wow, Miroku has just about all of the key-terms this time.. sheez… ~_~;

Please Review!!! ^_^


	5. Things to Come

"Demon Blood" by Jezunya

Chapter 5: Things to Come

Merry Christmas, y'all! Here's my gift to you - a new chapter!! Hope you like! ^_~

PS: I don't own Inuyasha, but he sure would make a great Christmas present! ^.~v

** ** ** ** **

Kagome slowly forced her eyes open, pushing herself upright and looking around groggily. Where on earth was she..? All around her was a thick black fog, obscuring her view in all directions. She shivered and wrapped her arms around herself as it swirled around her, sending a cold chill down her spine.

Suddenly the fog seemed to clear a little and she could just make out a figure slowly making its way towards her. Baggy robes waved in the fierce wind, long hair whipping around his figure as he walked, and she could just make out the dog-ears on top of his head if she squinted.

What was he doing here? And, for that matter, what was she doing here? And where was 'here' anyway?! Shaking her head, she stood and started to jog toward him, calling out to him.

He looked up slowly, colorless eyes staring at her blankly.

Wait, colorless?

Kagome stopped in her tracks, frowning as she stared at him. What the heck was wrong with his eyes?! And.. Now that she looked, his clothes were black, and his hair… She took another hesitant step toward him. "Inuyasha..?"

"What?!"

Kagome blinked…and found herself back in Kaede's hut, awake despite the slightly less-pressing darkness of night around her. She rubbed her eyes with her good hand, looking around the hut blurrily, until her gaze fell on Inuyasha, propping himself up on his elbows by the fire, glaring up at her. "Uh.." she said intelligently, "did you say something..?"

Inuyasha scoffed loudly, scowling. "I should ask you that. You called my name.. twice!"

Kagome stared at him, feeling a blush slowly creeping up her neck and hoping he couldn't see it in the dark. "I, um.. It must've been 'cause I was dreaming, I guess…" she conceded softly, suppressing a shudder when she thought back on the dream. What on earth had that been about, anyway? It was like the color had been sucked out of him or something, and he didn't seem to recognize her at all… She shivered. Whatever it was, she had a bad feeling about it…

Over by the fire, Inuyasha shifted nervously and gave her a suspicious look. "Whadya mean you were dreaming?" _You dreamed about me again..?_

Kagome swallowed. She didn't really want to tell him about the dream. Knowing him, he'd take it all wrong and either call her a hentai for dreaming about him at all or would act like she was accusing him of turning evil, or hiding his 'true colors' or something like that.. which really _would_ be a touchy subject, in light of the previous day's events. So, she went instead for a nice, safe fib.

"Oh, it was nothing important, really," she said, waving her good hand, "I was just dreaming that you were stealing all the ramen in the world and I kept trying to stop you and…" She cringed mentally. No way was he going to buy that!

Of course, when he got a look on his face like, 'Why didn't I think of that before?!' she just had to glare at him and add snappishly, "And it was a good thing I woke up right then, 'cause I was about to S-word you into oblivion in my dream!"

Inuyasha blinked and then scowled at her. He scoffed, rolling over onto his side, and pillowed his head on his arms back in the middle of the fire. "Keh. Trust you to have a stupid dream like that.."

Kagome glared at his back furiously, before huffing and leaning back against the wall with her arms folded. Okay, so it _had _been a stupid fib, but her real dream.. She shivered again, hugging herself. That was just creepy!

She closed her eyes and shook her head, lying back down on her futon and willing herself back to sleep.

***

The sun rose early the next morning, golden and hot, its light slowly making its way into the hut at the edge of the village to wake the inhabitants within.

Inuyasha let his eyes slide open slowly, allowing them time to adjust to the bright morning light before turning his gaze to scan the interior of the hut. The fire still crackled merrily around him, his aura having kept it alive through the night. Sango and Miroku were sleeping against the far wall, a rather obvious distance between them, and Shippou was curled up against Kagome's chest where she lay on the futon to his left.

He looked back over at the monk and demon exterminator, frowning slightly. Judging by the fact that he was still alive and whole, he guessed Kaede or Kagome had explained the situation to them. Not that he had needed them to, of course. It wasn't like he couldn't take on a couple of humans, even ones as powerful as Sango and Miroku. He snorted under his breath. _Yeah, right…_

He let his eyes slide closed for a moment again, before bracing his elbows beneath him to push himself up into a sitting position, and then rolling up onto his feet. Barely pausing long enough to glance back at Kagome's sleeping figure, he made his way silently out of the hut and into the morning sunshine.

Ketzia was waiting for him at the edge of the forest when he emerged from the human village.

"Figured you wouldn't be able to stay cooped up in there much longer," she smirked, and turned to lead the way back into the trees.

"I don't need a fucking escort, Ketzia," Inuyasha growled, rubbing the side of his head to clear the headache already building up there.

The she-dog pouted over her shoulder at him. "After what happened yesterday, you think I'm gonna let you wander around alone?"

"I'm fine!"

"Like hell you are!" Ketzia stopped and turned to face him, hands placed firmly on her hips. "First, you get put to sleep with that fucking miko's spell-" she ignored Inuyasha's angry snarl that she not talk about Kikyou that way "-and then you get attacked by your Shadow twice in one day! Somehow that doesn't strike me as 'fine,' Inuyasha!"

"Wait, what do you mean _twice_?! I only got hit once!"

Ketzia glared up at him, shaking her head, "No, I figured it out. When you blacked out after arguing with the human girl, you must have been attacked, but it couldn't do much damage because there was such a small window of time between when she left you and when I got there."

Inuyasha folded his arms stubbornly, scowling. "But you revived me almost immediately that time, so I don't see what the problem is."

"The problem is: it was all building up! The miko sealed your powers when she pinned you to that tree, and from what your mate's said, they still haven't completely returned-"

"That's another thing," Inuyasha snarled, cutting her off, "what the hell do you mean 'my mate' told you?!"

Ketzia blinked up at him, looking confused. "The human girl.. the one with the miko powers… Isn't she.. your..?"

"NO!!" Inuyasha practically screamed at her, his face reddening with both rage and embarrassment.

"But.. But I thought.. The way you act around her…"

Inuyasha covered his face with his hand, growling. "Just trust me on this, Ketzia. Kagome is _not_ my mate."

"Well, yeah, I guess you would know..." she conceded, scratching the back of her head sheepishly. "Although, even if you haven't mated her," she added, grinning wickedly, "you gotta admit you do act like you want to…"

Inuyasha's face flamed all over again. "I DO _NOT_!!!"

Ketzia just laughed and turned to continue making her way into the forest, Inuyasha trailing sullenly behind her after a moment. "You can't really expect me to know these things, though..." she said softly after a moment, watching her feet. Inuyasha just snorted. Yeah, he knew - Ketzia had a damn crappy nose, and she didn't particularly like being reminded of it. She could barely find scents that should have been familiar and obvious for her, and even then she had to be right at the source of the smell to detect it.

Ketzia shook her head, sighing. "My point was, though, that the miko sealed your powers with her spell, and according to your- I mean, according to _Kagome_, they haven't returned in full yet. So you were already weakened when you were attacked the first time yesterday, and then even _more_ weak after that, when you got hit the second time." She glanced back at him, a slight frown on her face, "So you can see why I'm worried…"

He scowled at the ground, letting out a soft, "Keh…"

Ketzia faced front again, smiling to herself as they came within sight of the camp Bannin and his soldiers had set up the night before. "In any case, I think it would make sense to delay our trip back to the Citadel a few days…"

Inuyasha looked at her sharply. "I thought you said we needed to leave as soon as possible…"

"Well, yeah," Ketzia shrugged, "but we really should give you time to build up your powers before we head back, and not just because of the Shadows.."

Inuyasha narrowed his eyes at her. "What do you mean?"

They had stopped just outside of the clearing that had served as the dog-demons' camp site. Ketzia slowly turned to face him, her face scrunching up as she prepared to tell him the bad news. "Well, you know how you get around Yoru…"

"Keh! I can take that bastard any time, with or without powers!"

Ketzia hurriedly nodded, "Yeah, but on top of that.. well…" She looked down at the ground. "Shireisha's at the Citadel." She closed her eyes, waiting for the explosion. She didn't have long to wait.

"WHAT?!?!"

"Grandfather invited her!" she quickly added, hoping that would help. Fortunately, Inuyasha's respect for the ancient demon won out over his immediate outrage at the infringement upon his territory.

"Go on," he prompted, growling loudly.

"Well.. about a-a decade ago.. She and Gareron and Sess were fighting this dragon up north, and, well, Gare wasn't quite fast enough and, um…" She looked away, looking almost like she was going to be sick. "He got run through… Completely tore his chest apart…"

Inuyasha felt one of his eyebrows begin to twitch. "And I should care, why..?"

Ketzia turned wide, tearful eyes on him. "Because he died! And then Sess turned rogue and left Shireisha alone! So Grandfather took pity on her and had her move into the Citadel with the rest of us."

Inuyasha growled, looking away. Ketzia was getting all teary-eyed. She had always had a soft spot for handsome, happy-go-lucky Gareron, although he himself couldn't stand any of his full-demon half-siblings. Keh, just as well that they were down to just two out of the three now.

"There's also.. well…" Ketzia bit her lip, looking down at the ground as Inuyasha frowned at her.

"…What?" There were _more_ problems back in the West?!

Ketzia shook her head, her face reddening. "Actually.. Um.. Never mind…" And with that she had turned and bolted away into the forest.

Inuyasha blinked. What was _that_ all about?! Sighing long-sufferingly, he just shook his head and made his way into camp. _Women…_

Bannin lifted his great shaggy head from where it rested on his paws at the hanyou's approach, the three parallel slash scars on his muzzle made even more prominent by the fur surrounding them. He gave a small rumble of greeting, sitting up on his haunches. Inuyasha wrinkled his nose at him. Even sitting, the dog-demon towered over him by a foot or two. Sighing again, more irritated now, he turned to look back in the direction Ketzia had gone.

"You know what I don't get," he began, speaking half to the demon behind him but mostly to himself. "Is why you lot didn't send Mizu after me. I mean, c'mon.. Even _I_ know there's nothing she could ask for that I wouldn't do.. But Ketzia on the hand… She's more like the annoying little sister of our group than anything else…"

"I believe it is probably because your sister has isolated herself from the rest of the court and is currently deep in mourning." Inuyasha whipped around to look at him sharply, not having noticed when he changed back into his humanoid form. Bannin blinked up at him blandly, still seated on the ground behind him.

Inuyasha growled. "What do you mean she's in mourning?" he demanded, turning to face the full-demon completely. 

Bannin's eyes flickered toward the forest where Ketzia had disappeared as well before slowly continuing. "I believe the Lady Ketzia was about to inform you of this.. sad turn of events."

"What? What happened?!"

Bannin took a moment before he met Inuyasha's gaze, grey-green eyes clouded with sorrow. "I am truly sorry, Inuyasha-sama… Less than half a year ago, your sister's husband was killed."

Inuyasha could on stare at him in shock. His sister's husband… Mizuki's husband, Hatachi. Hatachi had been the second-born prince of a clan of water sprites, and had met Mizuki when he had found her swimming in one of their rivers. Mizuki's power was over water, so he had posed no threat to her. They had fallen in love and been married. Scarcely two years later, Inuyasha had left on his quest for the Shikon jewel.

He and Hatachi had become good friends in that time. Mizuki had previously been the only one he could really connect with, since they had had a very special bond through their opposite powers, and Hatachi had taken him in like a younger brother, teaching him to handle a sword and to fight beyond the simple survival skills he had developed when he had lived on his own. Hatachi had been one of the few family members who hadn't hated him and hadn't been hated in return.

"Why wasn't I told?" he ground out, squeezing his eyes closed and clenching his fists almost painfully tight.

Bannin sighed. "If you recall correctly, my Lord, you yourself were thought dead until only a few months ago." Inuyasha glared out at the full-demon through his thick bangs. He couldn't exactly argue with that logic, but still...

"So what finally clued you lot in that I was alive?" he asked, his voice flat as he turned away. 

Again, Bannin sighed before responding. He sounded truly weary, knowing his news would not sit well with the half-demon prince. "Because it was _your_ Shadow that slew Hatachi."

Inuyasha whipped around so fast he almost toppled right off his feet. "_WHAT?!_"

Bannin just stared up at him, before dropping his gaze after a long, tense moment. "Again, I am truly, truly sorry, my Lord. I hate to bring such terrible news to you now..."

"Keh. Save it." He was closing up again, his face hard, fists clenched, his entire body rigid with strain. Bannin just watched grimly, keeping his silence. It was approaching the young lord in such a moment that had earned him the three scars on his snout that never faded, even despite his demon blood. His mouth pressed into a hard line as Inuyasha turned away, his voice flat when he spoke, "Get your men together. We're leaving."

And with that, he took off into the trees.

***

He finally found Ketzia curled up on a tree branch about fifty feet up from the ground. It had taken him a while to pick out her scent from the others in the forest. She smelled like trees and leaves and cinnamon, so he had to be consciously looking for her to even be able to find it amongst all the other tree scents. 

She didn't answer when he called up to her.

"Ketzia, I mean it! Get down here now!" Inuyasha growled, his hands clenching into fists as he glared up at her.

"Is that an order?" she shot back, scowling at him over her shoulder.

Inuyasha's face darkened, his growls echoing through the trees around them. "Ketzia..."

"Oh, alright," she sighed, and rolled off the branch to land in a crouch on the ground next to him. "What is it?" she asked, rising to her feet and folding her arms across her chest.

Inuyasha just looked at her for a moment, before turning on his heel, leading the way back toward the dog-demons' encampment. "Come on, we need to get going."

Ketzia frowned, hurrying to keep up with him. "What do you mean? I thought.. I thought we weren't leaving for a while yet..."

"There's been a change in plans," Inuyasha growled shortly, lengthening his strides further. 

Ketzia stopped in her tracks, staring at his back. "Bannin told you, didn't he? He told you what happened..."

Inuyasha stopped, not turning to face her. His fists clenched and unclenched at his sides, his shoulders rigid and tense. "He told me," he growled, his voice barely audible above the deep rumbling, "that it was _my_ Shadow that.." He swallowed past the lump in his throat. "..that killed Hatachi."

Ketzia struggled for something to say, tears building in her eyes. Finally, she settled on a quiet, "I-It's not your fault..."

Inuyasha whirled on her, glaring murderously. "You could have told me! You could have at least dropped a hint! A little 'Oh and by the way, Hatachi's dead and Mizuki's killing herself with grief'! Even that would have been better than- than-" He spun back around, his face enraged, raking his hands through his hair.

Ketzia sniffled, glaring hard at his back. "You think you're the only one grieving here?!" she demanded. "I liked Hatachi, too, you know! You- You're not the only one hurting here!"

"Shut up."

Ketzia gaped at him, before her face turned angry again. "Hey-"

"I said shut up," Inuyasha growled, glaring at her over his shoulder. "Whining about it ain't gonna fix anything."

Ketzia sighed. "Inuyasha..."

"Come on. The soldiers are waiting for us..." He began to walk away.

A thought suddenly hit Ketzia. "Wait!" she yelled, grabbing his arm and pulling him off in a different direction. "We need to go to the village first!"

"What?! Why?! Ketzia!"

"Just come on! We can't leave without this, trust me!"

Inuyasha sighed, rolling his eyes, and let himself be dragged along. There really was no stopping her once she got an idea in her head...

***

They stopped in front of Kaede's hut, Ketzia letting go of his arm to make her way up the steps and into the small wooden house. 

"Ketzia, what the hell?!" Inuyasha hissed, following noiselessly behind her. Ketzia glanced up at him as she tip-toed around the sleeping bodies on the floor toward the future girl lying on the far side of the room, grinned, and then turned back to what she was doing.

Kagome slowly came awake, the hand shaking her shoulder drawing her out of her haze of sleep. She yawned, rubbed her eyes with her good hand, and blinked blearily up at the figure crouched over her. "Inuyasha..?" she murmured, squinting tiredly. 

The figure grinned. "Nope. Close, though."

Kagome was suddenly very much awake, sitting bolt upright and backing up against the wall behind her. "You-!"

"Ketzia," Ketzia supplied, grinning amiably.

Kagome nodded, getting her breathing back under control. "Right.. Sorry, you just startled me..."

"It's fine," Ketzia smiled, waving her hand dismissively. "Anyway, you should get dressed and gather together any things you'll need to bring with you."

"For what?" Kagome stared at her in confusion, glancing up at Inuyasha standing by the doorway of the hut.

He frowned at the other half-demon's back, also confused. "Ketzia..."

Ketzia carried on as if she hadn't heard him. "For the trip Westward, of course. You're coming with us-"

Kagome opened her mouth in surprise, but Inuyasha beat her to it. "No!" he growled, leaping forward to grab Ketzia's arm and pull her away from the human girl. "She can't come!" he hissed, almost nose to nose with the other half-demon. 

Ketzia just smiled placidly up at him. "And how do you plan to defend yourself - or the rest of us, for that matter - from your Shadow, hm?" 

Inuyasha blinked, then scowled. "We're _not_ bringing her with us," he persisted, growling.

"Hmph." Ketzia brushed his hand off her arm, turning back to Kagome and ignoring the growling hanyou behind her. "You remember what I told you last night, right? About your miko powers? Well, we still need them. Just 'cause Inu-chan here is awake, doesn't mean he's up to his full powers yet."

"Okay," Kagome nodded, suppressing a snicker as Inuyasha's face reddened at the embarrassing nickname again. "Just gimme a minute to get my stuff..."

"Sure," Ketzia smiled, and turned to pull the sputtering Inuyasha along with her out of the hut. "Well, she seems eager enough to help," she commented, smiling, once they were outside and making their way away from the house.

Inuyasha rounded on her, his hands balling into fists. "Shut the hell up, Ketzia! I don't know what you're trying to pull, but I sure as hell don't need some fucking little human girl to take care of me!"

"You really don't want her to come?" Ketzia asked, finally dropping her ever-present grin and just looking tired. 

"No. I don't want her to come," he replied flatly, still glaring at her.

Ketzia blew out a long breath, ruffling her bangs. "Alright," she shrugged, "we won't bring her along." Her eyes suddenly narrowed, taking on a conniving look once again. "I can't exactly go against my lord's orders, now can I?"

Inuyasha stopped short, before his face stormed over again. "Don't pull that shit with me, Ketzia!" he snarled, and turned to stalk off toward the trees. 

"What?! All you have to do say the word, and she stays here!" she called after him cheerfully. As he continued to stalk away, her grin only widened. "Well, I guess if you're not going to order it, I'm free to do as I wish, huh?!" She smirked when he threw her a dirty look over his shoulder. She had won! Inuyasha may have been too proud to admit he needed some help while he recovered from the attacks yesterday, but they both knew he would have to formerly order her to leave Kagome behind before she complied.

_And there's no way he'd _ever_ do _that, she smirked, and turned back toward the hut to wait for the human girl. Sometimes, it really was good having such a reluctant leader...

***

Kagome emerged from the hut a few minutes later, giant knapsack in hand, and together she and Ketzia made their way through the woods to the demons' camp. 

"So... Miroku-sama said there were other demons with you," Kagome said, glancing over at Ketzia a bit nervously. Last night, they had gotten along well enough because of Inuyasha's injury hanging over their heads, but now she just wasn't sure how she should act. She shifted her wounded arm uncomfortably. 

Ketzia looked over at her and nodded. "Un.. I didn't really think he'd come willingly, so I brought some back-up." She grinned, then glanced at Kagome meaningfully. "'Course, I didn't know he'd be so easily persuaded when we brought you into the picture." She waggled her eyebrows suggestively, and Kagome looked away, a blush rising in her cheeks.

"I-It's not like that," she said quietly, and felt Ketzia look at her again. "I mean, he doesn't... It's not like he did it because he..." _loves_ "likes me, or anything... I'm just-"

"A friend?" Ketzia cut her off, smiling at her. "Don't worry, I know, Inuyasha already cleared it up. Kinda embarrassing, really, how I kept calling you his mate..." She grinned sheepishly, scratching the back of her head.

Kagome watched her feet, pursing her lips. _'A friend'?_ She had been about to say 'his shard-detector.'

_Well, maybe this won't be so bad, after all..._ she thought, smiling to herself as she followed Ketzia into the large clearing where the dog-demons were just breaking camp.

Bannin looked up from where he sat, rolling up the remains of a tent, when the two females entered the camp. He nodded to them in greeting and Ketzia smiled back warmly. "We will be leaving shortly, I presume, my Lady?" he asked in a deep rumbling voice as he turned back to his work. 

"Hai," Ketzia responded, watching him just a bit too intently than was necessary. "As soon as Inuyasha decides to show up. He stormed off a few minutes ago in a huff, so he'll probably be out pouting for a little while," she grinned. 

Bannin glanced up at her, frowning. "You should not speak of Lord Inuyasha in such a way," he said gravely. Ketzia looked taken aback for a moment, then nodded once, blushing, and moved away to fiddle with some of the supplies with the other dog-demons.

Kagome watched the exchange with curious eyes, wondering at the two dog-demons' relationship. Ketzia was apparently some kind of noble lady, although that wasn't exactly surprising, since Inuyasha himself was technically a prince. She had brought soldiers with her, and this man here seemed to be in charge of them, if his actions now and by the well the previous day were any indication. What had Inuyasha said his name was..?

Before she could try to strike up a conversation, the dog-demon beside her sighed heavily, glancing up at her as he tied off the bundle of tent cloth in his hands. "So you are this miko who befriends demons. I have heard much about you," he commented, looking her up and down with intense grey-green eyes. 

Kagome blushed slightly and looked at her feet. "I-It's really not that big a deal. I mean, it's mainly just Inuyasha and Shippou-chan.. and maybe a few others..."

Bannin shrugged, standing and shouldering his bundle. "Still, that is far more than most mikos. Indeed, most would not even pause before slaughtering any and all youkai in their path."

Kagome swallowed and stared at her feet again. He made miko sound like heartless, blood-thirsty killers, not like the defenders and protectresses that they were. Although... From a demon's point of view, especially the more human-like ones like Inuyasha or Ketzia, or even Sesshoumaru, a miko would seem to simply be out for blood, and with no better reason than the fact that they were youkai.

Kagome shivered involuntarily. It was one thing to slay a rampaging beast when it attacked a settlement, but she suddenly  had to wonder how many innocent lives had been destroyed at the hands of people like Midoriko or Kikyou, just because they were youkai. 

How many lives had she herself destroyed...?

"Anyway," the dog-demon continued, cutting through her thoughts, "it is good of you to agree to help Inuyasha-sama. He is... not at his full strength at the moment." He placed one clawed hand on her shoulder, the other holding the tent-bundle up, and gave a small smile. "Thank you, Lady Kagome."

And then he was brushing past her, and Kagome was left to blink in shock. After a moment, she snapped alert and spun around the call after him. "Wait! I never got your name!"

He paused to frown slightly at her over her shoulder. Then, "Bannin," he conceded. "I am Captain of the Guard at the Citadel."

"The Citadel?" Kagome asked, jogging to catch up with him. 

Bannin sighed through his nose as the human girl came to follow after him like an inquisitive pup, and continued walking. "Aa. That is where we travel to. It is where Lord Inuyasha and Lady Ketzia will meet with the rest of the Six, and hopefully be able to form an attack against the Shadows and - again, hopefully - completely eradicate them once and for all."

"Okay.." Kagome nodded, swallowing hard. "You wouldn't happen to know how-"

"My Lady, there will be time enough for answering questions later on," Bannin quickly cut her off, and then smiled slightly, nodding toward where the rest of the soldiers were packing away their supplies. "But right now there are things that must be done before we leave. I will try to give you all the information you need later, once we are on the road. Until then, my Lady." He nodded to her and turned to help his men pack.

Kagome let out a long breath and looked around at the forest and at the clearing in which she stood. They were traveling clear across Japan, to meet up with a bunch of other super-powered demons, to try to destroy some other-worldly menace that as far as she knew they couldn't even see, much less fight. Plus, they still had the Shards, Kikyou, and Naraku hanging over their heads.

She couldn't help wondering, not for the first time, if this was really a good idea.

** ** ** ** **

Wow.. I'm done! And just in time for Christmas, too! ^__^ Hope you guys liked it, and please review!! ^_^

Oh, and for those of you who were lobbying for an Inu/Ketz pairing, or at least an alternate ending of that sort... It ain't happening, so just forget it. (Really, you don't _want_ them to be together! Trust me, I'm the author, remember? I know these things!)

**-chan –** Name suffix used to show affection or just all-around cuteness. Used between close friends, sometimes family members, and for small children. (least respectful)

**-sama –** Name suffix showing extreme respect and/or a distant relationship. Would be used for a god, a lord/lady, priest, etc. (most respectful)

**Aa –** "yes" Note: This is a masculine word, so it is ONLY USED BY MALES!!!

**Hai –** yes

**Hentai –** pervert

**Miko –** Shinto priestess/shrine-girl. 

**Un –** Yeah/Yes (casual)

**Youkai –** demon 

Review please!!!


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